NEW  ENGLAND  CHURCH 
1853    Hf.    CHICAGO    *    1903 


UNIVERSITY  OF  H' ^^'ar 

AT  CHICAG^,^ 

8Q1  S.  MORGAN 
CHICAGO.  IL  60607 


'^ 


5X 

IZSC 

-^tj,  THE  ^FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY 
.  6  M  OF  THE    FOUNDING 


NEW  ENGLAND    CHURCH 

CHICAGO 


JUNE   THIRTEENTH  AND    FOURTEENTH 
1903 


"T/iy  Way,  O  God,  is  in  the  Sanctuary r 

—Psalm  77  -.  13 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  CHURCH 
CHICAGO 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS 


Introduction     ---------  5 

List  of  Speakers  on  Monday  Evening,  June  14     -        -        -  6 

Historical  Sketch  of  the  Church   -----  9 

Anniversary  Sermon       -        -        -        -        -        -        -        -  41 

Paper  by  Rev.  Simeon  Gilbert,  D.  D.        -        -        -        -  51 

Letter  from  Rev.  Leander  T.  Chamberlain,  D.  D.       -        -  57 

Letter  from  Rev.  Arthur  Little,  D.  D.  -        -        -        -  60 

Letter  from  Rev.  James  Gibson  Johnson,  D.  D.  -        -        -  65 

Letter  from  Rev.  Horace  Leslie  Strain          -        -        -  67 
Appendix  A. —  Professor  Samuel  C.  Bartlett's  Remarks 

on  Laying  Corner-Stone  of  Church,  February  7, 1867  68 
Appendix  B.  —  Action  of  Church  on  Memorial  Stones 

Placed  in  Front  Wall  of  Church  -       -        -        -       -  70 

Appendix  C. — Action  of  Church  on  the  Gift  by  Dea- 
con William  H.  Bradley,  of  the  Scrooby  Baptismal 

Font,  with  Historical  Sketch  of  Same        -        -        -  72 


INTRODUCTION 

The  propriety  of  commemorating  the  semi-centennial 
of  the  founding  of  the  New  England  Church  had  been  pri- 
vately discussed  among  the  members,  and  at  the  annual 
Church  meeting,  held  on  February  ii,  1903,  ''The  Church 
Council  was  authorized  to  arrange  for  the  celebration  of 
the  Church  Jubilee  on  June  thirteenth  and  fourteenth." 
On  March  nth,  Rev.  Mr.  Winchester,  the  assistant  pas- 
tor, reported  "an  outline  of  the  scheme  proposed  for  such 
celebration,"  which  report  was  accepted,  its  recommenda- 
tions adopted,  and  the  Committee  was  continued.  On 
May  20th,  at  the  monthly  business  meeting,  on  the  report 
of  the  Committee,  it  was  formally 

"Resolved,  That  the  semi-centennial  of  the  founding  of 
the  New  England  Church  be  observed  by  special  services 
on  Sunday  morning  and  evening,  June  13,  1903,  and  by  a 
public  meeting  and  social  gathering  on  Monday  evening, 
the  14th  of  June. 

"That  the  service  on  Sunday  morning  be  devoted  to  an 
Historical  Sketch  of  the  Church,  to  be  prepared  by  Deacon 
E.  W.  Blatchford;  to  be  followed  by  the  Communion  Ser- 
vice, led  by  our  pastor.  Rev.  W.  Douglas  Mackenzie, 
D.  D.,  and  by  our  assistant  pastor,  Rev.  Benjamin  S. 
Winchester;  on  Sunday  evening  Dr.  Mackenzie  to  deliver 
an  anniversary  sermon;  and  on  Monday  evening  brief 
addresses,  to  be  followed  by  a  social  gathering. 

"That  to  these  services  the  present  and  former  members 
of  the  Church  and  congregation,  and  friends  of  the  Church 

5 


Introduction 


living  in  or  near  Chicago,  be  invited,  so  far  as  their  ad- 
dresses may  be  obtainable." 

Committees  on  Invitation,  Entertainment,  and  Finance 
were  appointed. 

The  program  as  thus  outlined  v^as  successfully  carried 
out.  The  Church  had  the  pleasure  of  v^^elcoming  at  these 
commemoration  services  many  of  its  former  members. 
On  Monday  evening  Rev.  Simeon  Gilbert,  D.  D.,  present- 
ed a  carefully  prepared  paper  on  '  'The  Spirit  of  the  New 
England  Church,"  after  which  brief  words  of  greeting 
were  spoken  by  the  following  friends. 

Rev.  A.  N.  Hitchcock,  Ph.  D.,  District  Secretary  The 
American  Board. 

Rev.  J.  Tompkins,  D.  D.,  Secretary  Illinois  Home  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

Rev.  W.  L.  Tenney,  D.  D.,  District  Secretary  American 
Missionary  Association. 

Rev.  W.  F.  McMillen,  D.  D.,  District  Secretary  Con- 
gregational S.  S.  and  Publishing  Society. 

William  Spooner,  Secretary  of  Chicago  City  Missionary 
Society. 

Rev.  John  Monro  Gibson,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  St.  John's 
Wood  Presbyterian  Church,  London,  England. 

Rev.  William  A.  Bartlett,  D.  D.,  Pastor  First  Congre- 
gational Church  on  ''The  Church  and  Evangelism." 

Rev.  Adolph  A.  Eerie,  D.  D.,  Pastor  Union  Park 
Church. 

Rev.  J.  H.  George,  D.  D.,  President  of  Chicago  Theo- 
logical Seminary. 

The  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  George  S.  F. 
Savage,  D.  D. 

It  was  subsequently  ordered  that  there  be  printed  the 
Historical  Sketch,  the  Anniversary  Sermon,  and  the  Paper 


Introduction 


by  Rev.  Simeon  Gilbert,  D.  D.,  on  "The  Spirit  of  the  New 
England  Church,"  presented  on  Monday  evening;  and 
also  the  letters  received  from  the  ex-pastors.  Rev.  Leander 
T.  Chamberlain,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Arthur  Little,  D.  D.,  Rev. 
James  Gibson  Johnson,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Horace  Leslie 
Strain. 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH    OF    FIFTY    YEARS  OF 
THE  NEW   ENGLAND    CHURCH 

BY  E.  W.  BLATCHFORD 

Presented  Sabbath  Morning,  June  13,  1903 

Fellow-members  of  the  New  England  Church  and 
Congregation,  we  meet  this  morning  as  a  family.  As  one 
of  its  oldest  members  I  yielded  to  the  solicitation  of  our 
pastors  and  many  of  the  brethren  to  present  to  you  an 
historical  sketch  of  the  half-century  life  of  the  Church. 

If  I  were  to  select  a  guiding  thought,  it  would  be 
from  Psalm,  48:12-14. 

"  Walk  about  Zion,  and  go  around  about  her,  tell  the  towers 
thereof,  mark  ye  well  her  bulwarks,  consider  her  palaces;  that  ye 
may  tell  it  to  the  generation  following.  For  this  God  is  our  God 
forever  and  ever;   He  will  be  our  guide  even  unto  death." 

And  how  may  this  subject  be  considered  within  the 
limits  of  the  time  allotted  me  ?  The  closing  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century!  The  wheels  of  time  have  turned 
swiftly.  The  map  of  the  world  has  changed.  The  charts 
of  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  the  islands  of  the  sea,  the  whole 
Western  Hemisphere,  speak  a  new  meaning.  With  deeper 
import  come  to  us  the  gathered  events  which  have 
crowded  its  years  in  this  nation,  in  the  Northwest,  in  our 
own  city.  To  these  events  the  Congregational  denomi- 
nation, every  church  throughout  the  valley  of  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  holds  a  close  relation.  In  its 
life  and  its  stately  advance  this  church  has  borne  no 
unworthy  part. 


New  England  Chxjrch 


It  is  a  striking  fact  that  within  the  limited  period  of 
two  years— between  May  22, 1851  and  June  15, 1853— the 
first  three  Congregational  churches  of  this  city  were  or- 
ganized, the  First,  the  Plymouth,  and  the  New  England. 
The  question  is  significant  as  related  to  the  beginning  of 
Congregationalism  in  the  Northwest  and  in  this  city,  why 
eighteen  years  should  have  elapsed  after  the  organization 
of  the  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  and  Baptist  churches, 
before  one  of  our  own  denomination  came    into  being. 

For  the  answer  we  must  look  back  to  the  beginning 
of  the  century,  when  the  so-called  "Plan  of  Union"  was 
adopted,  a  compact  originating  in  the  General  Assembly, 
and  adopted  by  the  Connecticut  Association  in  May,  1801. 
Up  to  this  time  Congregationalism  had  grown  and  thriven 
within  the  limits  of  New  England  under  the  "Cambridge 
Platform,"  adopted  only  thirty-eight  years  after  our  Puri- 
tan fathers  landed.  But  now  the  tide  of  Western  emigra- 
tion invited  to  new  fields,  with  new  conditions,  and  it  was 
to  meet  these  new  conditions  that  the  "Plan  of  Union" 
was  devised.  It  was  "an  honorable  arrangement" — I 
quote  from  Walker — "but  in  its  actual  workings  operated 
in  favor  of  the  Presbyterians.  They  were  nearer  the  scene 
of  home  missionary  labor ;  their  denominational  spirit  was 
more  assertive  than  that  of  Congregationalism  of  those 
days;  their  Presbyteries  were  rapidly  spread  over  the 
Missionary  districts,  and  the  natural  desire  for  fellowship 
where  the  points  of  separation  seemed  so  few,  led  Congre- 
gational ministers  to  accept  the  welcome  offered  therein." 
Thus  an  erroneous  impression  became  prevalent,  incom- 
prehensibly favored  by  New  England  sentiment,  that  a 
more  strenuous  form  of  government  was  safer  and  better 
fitted  to  meet  the  needs  of  new  and  heterogeneous  com- 
munities at  the  West.     The  men  of  that  first  year  of  the 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  ii 


nineteenth  century  seemed  unmindful  of  the  struggles 
endured  and  victories  won  by  Congregationalism  for  nigh 
two  hundred  years  in  its  New  England  environment,  and, 
strangely  enough,  doubted  its  strength  to  stand  alone  when 
it  should  cross  the  Hudson  River,  and  get  beyond  its  con- 
servative New  England  guardianship.  And  what  was  the 
result  ?  I  quote,  "over  two  thousand  churches  which  were 
in  origin  and  usages  Congregational,  were  transformed 
into  Presbyterian  churches."  It  was  under  this  "Plan" 
that  the  religious  foundations  of  western  New  York,  of 
Ohio,  of  Illinois,  and  of  Michigan,  were  largely  laid,  in  the 
larger  cities  of  which  its  influence  was  specially  recog- 
nized. Yet  it  should  be  stated  that  through  these  early 
years  colonies  of  stalwart,  consecrated  men,  loyal  to  Con- 
gregational principles,  came  westward  under  missionary 
influence,  who  planted  in  these  states  the  seeds  of  consistent 
Christian  life  and  doctrine  and  sound  Christian  education. 
The  "Yale  Band"  came  to  Central  Illinois  in  1829, 
founded  Illinois  College  at  Jacksonville,  and  the  Female 
Seminary  at  Monticello;  in  1831  the  ten  from  Andover; 
in  the  same  year  the  "Hampshire  Colony"  organized  at 
and  starting  from  Northampton,  Mass.  made  their  center 
of  light  at  Princeton,  Illinois;  and  the  Band  of  Ten  who,  in 
response  to  a  trumpet  call,  came  to  southern  Wisconsin 
eight  years  before  its  statehood  began;  and  the  "Yale 
Band"  of  1843  '^  Iowa,  one  of  whom — the  venerable 
William  Salter,  my  own  and  my  father's  friend — still  lin- 
gers by  the  Mighty  River  beholding  "What  God  hath 
wrought,"  and  peacefully  awaits  a  call  to  the  eternal  home 
above. 

To  meet  the  problems  confronting  Congregationalism 
at  that  day  two  Conventions  were  held — the  first  in  Mich- 
igan City  in  '46,  and  the  second  in  '52  at  Albany,  and 


Xew  England  Church 


placed  the  sound  principles  and  faithful  work  of  Western 
brethren  in  a  true  light.  These  gatherings  opened  the  way 
for  the  Boston  Convention  of  '65,  of  which  our  senior 
deacon,  Colonel  Hammond,  was  first  vice-president. 
The  principles  underlying  Congregational  teaching  and 
polity,  ''that  liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath  made  us 
free,"  the  Scriptural  rule  of  Christian  fellowship,  with 
the  broad  manly  utterances  in  the  discussions  which 
went  out  from  these  Conventions  inspired  a  new  impulse 
of  denominational  courage  and  faith  throughout  the  land 
which  bore  immediate  and  enduring  fruitage.  The  de- 
nomination awakened  to  a  new  self-consciousness  and 
became  national.  Such  were  the  conditions  half  a  century 
ago  to  which  this  historic  occasion  demands  reference.  A 
wave  of  sentiment  favoring  Congregational  polity  was 
sweeping  through  the  country,  yet  it  was  not  until  the 
twenty-first  day  of  May,  1851,  that  "Congregationalism 
found  a  foothold  in  Chicago,  when  forty-two  out  of  sixty- 
eight  members  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church,  on  the 
West  Side,  having  been  excluded  from  the  church  by 
the  Presbytery  on  account  of  their  attitude  on  the  slavery 
question,  called  a  Council,  and  were  recognized  as  the 
''First  Congregational  Church  of  Chicago." 

Eighteen  months  after,  in  December,  1852,  a  colony, 
prompted  by  the  dissatisfaction  with  the  status  of  the 
Presbyterian  General  Assembly  toward  slavery,  and  by 
their  decided  preference  for  Congregational  polity,  left  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  organized  the  Plymouth 
Church  on  the  South  Side,  consisting  of  48  members. 

In  the  following  year,  June  15,  1853,  the  New  England 
Church  was  organized  with  a  membership  of  twenty- 
one.  Of  neighboring  Congregational  churches  there  were 
few,  only  four  within  a  radius  of  forty  miles,  excepting 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  13 

the  First  and  Plymouth,  all  feeble,  with  an  aggregate  of 
probably  less  than  two  hundred  members. 

The  origin  of  the  New  England  Church  was  suggestive 
of  the  circumstances  of  the  times,  and  the  loyal  characters 
who  headed  the  movement.  It  was  felt  to  be  desirable  to 
establish  a  Congregational  paper  in  Chicago,  and  Rev. 
John  C.  Holbrook,  of  Dubuque,  Iowa,  was  engaged  as 
editor,  an  inducement  to  his  accepting  this  post  being  an 
offer  to  combine  with  it  the  pastorate  of  the  Church  then 
under  consideration  on  the  North  Side. 

Mr.  Holbrook  entered  upon  his  duties  early  in  '53. 
"Services  were  appointed  for  each  Sabbath  afternoon  at 
the  North  Market  Hall,  a  public  city  building,  on  the 
corner  of  Dearborn  and  Michigan  streets;  and  prayer- 
meetings  were  instituted  at  private  houses.  Much  en- 
couragement was  given  the  new  impulse  by  aid  received 
from  members  of  the  First  and  Plymouth  Churches." 

About  the  ist  of  May,  1853,  I  quote  from  the  Church 
records.  ''A  meeting  of  those  interested  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  Congregational  Church  in  the  North  Division  of 
the  city  was  held  at  the  office  of  the  Congregational  Herald. 
Rev.  J.  C.  Holbrook  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Charles 
Whitney  was  appointed  Secretary.  A  Committee  com- 
posed of  Rev.  J.  C.  Holbrook,  C.  G.  Hammond,  G.  C. 
Whitney,  Lewis  Broad,  and  J.  N.  Davidson  was  chosen 
to  draft  proper  Principles  of  Organization  and  Govern- 
ment, with  Articles  of  Faith,  Covenant,  and  Rules  of  Order 
for  the  body ;  while  a  second  Committee,  consisting  of  Mr. 
Holbrook,  Mr.  Whitney,  and  L.  D.  Olmsted,  were  in- 
structed to  call  a  Council  of  the  Churches  to  meet 
during  the  month  of  June  for  the  purpose  of  duly  organ- 
izing a  Congregational  Church." 

At  the  close  of  services  on  the  succeeding  Sabbath,  the 


14 


New  England  Church 


Committees  made  report,  and  after  some  discussion,  the 
Principles  of  Organization  and  Government,  with  the 
Covenant,  Articles  of  Faith,  and  Rules  were  unanimously 
adopted.  The  Committee  appointed  to  call  a  Council 
also  reported  that  they  had  sent  letters  to  the  neighboring 
ministers  and  churches  inviting  them  to  convene  in  Coun- 
cil at  the  Plymouth  Church,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  June 
following.  The  list  of  fourteen  churches  invited  seems 
small  when  compared  with  similar  lists  at  this  day,  yet  it 
indicates  who  were  considered  "neighbors,"  the  First 
and  Plymouth  in  our  own  city,  with  those  in  Milwaukee, 
Racine,  Waukegan,  Detroit,  Ann  Arbor,  Grand  Rapids, 
Elgin,  Batavia,  St.  Charles,  Naperville,  Udina,  and  Rock- 
ford.  The  composition  of  this  Council  will  bring  interest- 
ing memories  to  some  present.  Seven  churches  were  rep- 
resented. 

Pastor 


The  First,  Chicago 

The  Plymouth,  Chicago 

Batavia 

Waukegan 

Udina 

St.  Charles 

Elgin 


J.  M.  Williams 
J.  N.  Davis 
Stephen  Peet 

N.  C.  Clark 
G.  S.  F.  Savage 
William  H.  Starr 


Delegate 
Philo  Carpenter 
J.  R.  Shedd 
S.  Bradley 
E.  G.  Howe 
A.  Harpending 

H.  Wheaton 


The  pastor  of  one  of  them — at  St.  Charles — Rev.  Dr. 
Savage,  is  with  us  this  morning,  the  only  one  of  that  Coun- 
cil whose  eyes  have  witnessed  the  changes  in  political, 
social,  and  religious  life  during  the  half-century  which 
closes  to-day.  The  other  neighboring  churches  were,  one 
in  Fremont,  organized,  however,  as  a  Presbyterian  Church, 
in  1838;  one  at  Milburn,  organized  in  1841 ;  one  In  Lyons- 
ville,  organized  in  1843;  and  one  in  Crete,  organized  in  1848. 

May  I  be  pardoned  if  I  relate  a  bit  of  personal  interest 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  15 

in  the  organization  of  the  church  at  Fremont,  then  "Me- 
chanics' Grove."  I  quote  from  their  Church  Records: 
'  'The  place  chosen  for  this  meeting  was  the  log  house  of 
Alfred  Payne.  The  Rev.  John  Blatchford  (my  father), 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chicago,  was 
present,  and  acted  as  Moderator  of  the  meeting,  and  also 
preached  the  sermon."  Sixteen  members  united  by  letter. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  document  recording  the 
formation  of  this  church,  written  and  signed  by  the  Moder- 
ator. 

'  'This  may  certify  that  in  obedience  to  the  order  of 
the  Presbytery,  I  visited  Mechanics'  Grove,  February  20, 
1838,  and  organized  a  church  in  accordance  with  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America. 

Following  is  a  list  composing  the  church.  It  reads — 
Elisha  Clark,  Hiram  Clark,  and  Oliver  L.  Payne  were 
elected  ruling  elders  and  were  regularly  ordained  to  the 
office. 

(Signed)  John  Blatchford. 

A  true  copy.     Elisha  Clark. 

In  1850,  prompted  by  its  strong  anti- slavery  views,  the 
Church  changed  to  the  Congregational  form.  With  much 
interest  I  attended  its  semi-centennial  on  February  20, 
1888. 

The  Council  was  organized  in  usual  form,  with  Rev. 
Samuel  Peet,  Moderator,  and  Rev.  J.  M.  Williams,  Scribe. 
The  Christian  aims  of  the  enterprise  were  fully  stated  and 
unanimously  sustained.  The  Articles  of  Faith,  the  Cove- 
nant, and  Rules  of  Order  were  presented  and  approved, 
and  it  was  decided  to  proceed  in  the  evening  to  organize 
the  Church. 


New  England  Church 


These  exercises  were  participated  in  as  follows: 

Invocation  and  Reading  of  the  Scriptures      -        -     Rev.  W.  H.  Starr 
Prayer         -------  Rev.  J.  M.  Davis 

Reading  the  Articles  of  Faith  -  -  -  Rev.  E.  F.  Dickinson 
Constituting  Prayer  and  Recognition  of  the  Church,  Rev.  S.  Peet 
Fellowship  of  the  Churches  -        .        .        .  Rev.  N.  C.  Clark 

Address  to  the  Church  -        -        -        .       Rev.  J.  M.  Williams 

Thus,  as  read  the  records,  "The  following  persons  were 
organized  as  a  Congregational  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  As  we  have  with  us  to-day  a  number  of  members 
and  descendants  of  those  early  families,  I  read  the  list  of 
these  charter  members. 

Rev.  John  C.  Holbrook,  from  Congregational  Church,  Dubuque,  la. 
Mrs.  A.  L.  Holbrook,  from  Congregational  Church,  Dubuque,  la. 
Abraham  Clark,  from  Congregational  Church,  Dubuque,  la. 
Mrs.  Milicent  Clark,  from  Congregational  Church,  Dubuque,  la. 
Miss  Jane  E.  Clark,  from  Congregational  Church,  Dubuque,  la. 
Miss  R.  N.  Coole,  from  Congregational  Church,  Dubuque,  la. 
Charles  G.  Hammond,  from  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago. 
Mrs.  C.  G.  Hammond,  from  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago. 
Orlando  Davidson,  from  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago. 
Mrs.  O.  Davidson,  from  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago. 
Benjamin  Carpenter,  from  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago. 
Mrs.  Benjamin  Carpenter,  from  Plymouth  Church,  Chicago. 
Lucius  D.  Olmsted,  from  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Chicago. 
Mrs.  L.  D.  Olmsted,  from  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Chicago. 
James  N.  Davidson,  from  First  Congregational  Church,  Chicago. 
Mrs.  J.  N.  Davidson,  from  First  Congregational  Church,  Chicago. 
Miss  Elizabeth  Davidson,  from  First  Congregational  Church,  Chi- 
cago. 
George  C.  Whitney,  from  Sixth  Presbyterian  Church,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Mrs.  G.  C.  WTiitney,  from  Sixth  Presbyterian  Church,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Charles  A.  Whitney,  from  Sixth  Presbyterian  Church,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Miss  Sarah  Whitney,  from  Sixth  Presbyterian  Church,  Newark,  N.  J. 
(Miss  Whitney,  now  Mrs.  Oliphant,  is  the  only  survivor  of  this 
number.) 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  17 

Soon  after,  on  the  6th  of  July,  Charles  G.  Hammond 
and  George  C.  Whitney  were  by  ballot  elected  deacons; 
Orlando  Davidson  was  chosen  clerk,  and  James  N.  Da- 
vidson, collector. 

These  twenty-one  early  members  were  all  of  New  Eng- 
land ancestry.  Connecticut  gave  us  the  Hammonds  and 
Olmsteds;  Vermont,  the  Holbrook  and  Clark  families; 
Massachusetts,  the  Carpenters;  New  Hampshire,  the 
Davidsons,  and  the  Whitneys.  So,  when  on  October  9th 
of  that  year,  the  name,  the  New  England  Church,  was 
decided  upon,  did  they  perpetuate  their  early  associations. 

For  a  time  services  were  held  regularly  on  Sabbath 
afternoons  in  the  North  Market  Hall.  Some  pleasant 
and  significant  experiences  have  come  down  of  those  days. 
May  I  relate  one  little  incident  which  has  recently  come 
to  me  from  one  of  our  faithful  members,  then  a  little 
girl  of  seven  ?  There  came  into  the  room  during  service 
one  afternoon  a  group  of  Portuguese  in  their  native 
dress,  all  adults  but  one,  a  small  boy,  and  took  seats  by 
the  side  of  the  platform  with  their  interpreter,  through 
whom  the  minister  spoke  to  them  of  Christ.  They  were 
moved  to  tears,  and  before  leaving  sang  the  Portuguese 
hymn,  music  which  we  have,  set  to  the  favorite  hymn, 
"How  firm  a  foundation,  ye  saints  of  the  Lord."  'Tt 
was  an  impressive  sight,"  my  informant  said.  'T  have 
felt  ever  since  then  that  the  New  England  Church  was 
intended  to  bring  in  all  kinds  of  people." 

It  was  a  great  change  when,  in  the  autumn  of  '53,  the 
Church  gave  up  its  temporary  quarters  in  the  tovm  hall, 
and  took  possession  of  the  plain  wooden  building  on  the 
corner  of  Wolcott  and  Indiana  streets.  The  lot  was 
bought  in  the  name  of  Benjamin  Carpenter,  to  whose 
thoughtfulness    in    business    matters    the  Church    owed 


1 8  New  England  Church 

much  in  those  early  days.  No  formal  dedication  services 
were  held,  but  the  heartfelt  recognition  of  the  event  was 
deep,  and  in  the  quiet  room  soon  added  on  the  east, 
consecrated  by  our  prayer- meetings,  were  created  memo- 
ries and  experiences  that  hold  to  two  worlds. 

For  about  two  years,  until  the  close  of  '55,  Mr.  Hol- 
brook  continued  to  discharge  the  double  duty  of  pastor 
and  editor,  but  found  the  labor  too  arduous.  Invited  to 
become  our  pastor,  he  declined  the  call,  and  after  a  year 
of  exclusive  devotion  to  the  paper,  returned  to  the  pasto- 
rate of  the  Dubuque  church.  After  Mr.  Holbrook's 
departure  the  pulpit  was  filled  by  several  clergymen,  of 
whom  the  Rev.  Charles  P.  Bush  remained  longest,  a 
period  of  some  nine  months.  The  geniality  of  Mr.  Bush 
and  his  wife  and  his  pleasant  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  Church  have  ever  been  held  in  grateful 
remembrance. 

At  this  date,  three  years  after  our  organization,  our 
membership  had  increased  to  fifty-four,  and  there  was  an 
ardent  longing  for  a  settled  pastor.  The  name  of  Rev. 
Samuel  C.  Bartlett,  of  Manchester,  New  Hampshire, 
had  been  favorably  brought  before  us.  After  careful 
investigations  ont  he  part  of  the  Church,  and  a  visit  to 
our  city  on  his  part,  he  received  and  accepted  our  call 
and  entered  upon  his  duties.  I  well  remember  the 
enthusiasm  with  which  Mr.  Bartlett  went  to  work.  We 
all  felt  it.  Years  after  he  thus  gave  to  a  young  friend  his 
reasons  for  coming  to  Chicago.  "The  city  had  sur- 
passed all  in  its  growth ;  it  was  the  center  of  the  country, 
the  emporium  of  the  opening  West;  its  people  are  from 
the  East,  the  choicest  spirits;  they  are  the  'brightest  and 
best  of  the  sons  of  the  morning.'  The  churches  are 
crowded — fifty  more  churches  needed  in  the  city!" 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  19 

And  this  life  began,  a  life  of  strong,  steady,  indefatigable 
work  as  pastor  and  preacher.  Our  Church  and  the  city 
were  to  him  a  constant  study.  I  early  recognized  in  the 
topics  and  application  of  his  preaching  a  general  line  of 
systematic  sequential  thought  leading  upward  and  on- 
ward, so  that  when  the  religious  revivals  swept  through 
our  country  in  the  winter  of  '58,  following  the  financial 
panic  of  the  autumn  of  '57,  our  Church  received  a 
specially  rich  blessing.  Within  a  few  months  we  received 
into  our  membership  sixteen  on  profession  and  eighteen 
by  letter.  Mr.  Bartlett's  careful  guidance  and  education 
of  the  young  converts  I  have  never  seen  equaled.  It 
resembled  the  catechumen  discipline  of  our  Methodist 
and  Episcopalian  brethren  worthy  of  our  imitation.  I 
have  lately  seen  the  question  in  print,  "Has  Congrega- 
tionalism a  creed?"  As  I  write,  there  lies  before  me  a 
copy  of  the  first  printed  manual  of  the  church,  revised 
under  Mr.  Bartlett's  direction.  To  each  of  its  nine 
articles  are  appended  from  fifteen  to  thirty-two  proof 
texts.  "Prove  all  things;  hold  fast  that  which  is  good," 
was  Mr.  Bartlett's  motto  through  life.  But  this  pastoral 
work  was  not  to  be  of  long  duration.  Fifteen  months 
after  our  Church  life  began,  in  September,  '54,  the  Chicago 
Theological  Seminary  was  organized.  To  secure  a  teach- 
ing force  that  would  unite  ability  and  experience  was  not 
easy.  The  qualifications  of  our  pastor  for  such  position 
were  soon  recognized,  and  within  a  year  from  his  enter- 
ing upon  our  work,  he  was  urged  to  aid  in  this  new,  and 
to  him  attractive,  field.  In  the  hope  that  his  previous 
studies  and  experiences  would  enable  him  to  bear  the 
double  burden  of  pastor  and  professor,  for  a  limited  time 
he  undertook  the  department  of  Biblical  Literature. 
The  Seminary  began  its  work  on  October  6,  1858.     But 


20  New  England  Church 

such  double  stress  could  not  long  continue.  After  a  few 
months  Mr.  Bartlett  felt  compelled  to  ask  for  release 
from  his  duties  as  pastor,  feeling,  as  he  wrote  us,  '  'the 
claims  of  the  seminary  under  present  circumstances  the 
stronger."  Loyalty  to  our  Seminary  existed  in  the  New 
England  Church  from  the  very  inception  of  the  institu- 
tion, but  this  letter  from  our  pastor  called  out  a  strong 
protest.  It  was  finally  accepted,  however,  and  a  council 
was  called  as  requested,  which  after  consideration  of 
the  interests  involved  approved  our  pastor's  views. 

I  have  given  special  attention  to  the  facts  affecting 
the  establishment  of  Congregationalism  in  the  West,  and 
to  the  first  pastorate  of  this  Church,  on  account  of  the 
value  which  always  attaches  to  the  beginning  of  things. 
Time  will  not  allow  in  the  subsequent  sketches  more  than 
a  brief  summary,  with  such  limited  statement  of  events 
as  seems  necessary  to  indicate  the  progress  of  the  Church. 

At  once  after  Mr.  Bartlett's  dismission  the  Church 
appointed  a  Committee  on  Supply,  on  which  Committee 
were  Deacon  A.  W.  Tinkham  and  Lyman  Baird.  Pro- 
fessor Haven  of  the  Seminary  was  engaged  as  temporary 
supply,  and  Deacon  Francis  Bradley,  brother  of  the 
late  William  H.  Bradley,  was  delegated  to  go  to  the  East, 
to  explore  the  field.  The  result  of  this  action  was  a  call 
to  Rev.  Samuel  Wolcott,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  who  after 
visiting  us,  and  preaching  two  Sabbaths,  accepted  the 
call,  and  was  installed  on  October  lo,  1859. 

During  this  pastorate  an  outreaching  enterprise  of  the 
church,  called  the  Elm  Street  Mission  Sunday  School, 
from  the  street  on  which  it  was  located,  was  organized, 
and  awakened  much  interest;  and  on  December  26, 
i860,  it  had  so  developed  that  Sunday  evening  services 
were  called  for,  and  a  committee,  consisting  of  the  pastor 


Fiftieth  Anniversary 


and  Brothers  Dickinson,  McLennan,  Tinkham,  and 
Baird,  were  appointed  to  provide  a  plan  of  systematic 
visitation  of  the  district  lying  north  of  Chicago  Avenue 
and  east  of  Clark  Street.  Also  at  the  same  meeting  '  'the 
trustees  v^ere  requested  to  select  a  nev^  location  for  our 
Church  as  soon  as  practicable."  At  the  annual  Church 
meeting,  held  the  next  week,  January,  1861,  the  triennial 
election  of  deacons  was  changed,  and  the  office  was  made 
permanent. 

On  November  18,  1861,  after  full  conferences  by  the 
Church  with  Mr.  Wolcott  he  presented  his  resignation, 
which  was  approved  by  a  mutual  council  on  December 
1 8th.  The  pulpit  was  then  supplied  principally  by 
professors  from  the  Seminary,  and  for  three  months  with 
much  acceptance  by  Rev.  William  B.  Clarke,  of  Lowell, 
Mass.  During  the  early  autumn  of  1862  the  Church 
heard  with  interest  Rev.  Starr  H.  Nichols,  of  Danbury, 
Conn.,  who  was  engaged  to  act  as  stated  supply  for  one 
year.  His  coming  introduced  new  elements  in  marked 
contrast  to  his  predecessor.  I  am  reminded  of  the  old 
and  still  continued  interest  of  the  Church  in  its  '  'service 
of  song"  by  the  change  made  at  this  time  from  the  old 
''Hymn  and  Tune  Book"  to  "Hymns  of  the  Church" 
by  Robinson,  and  also  by  active  steps  taken  towards 
procuring  an  organ.  Originality  and  poetic  thought 
characterized  the  sermons  of  this  young  minister  attract- 
ing many,  while  some  listened  not  without  apprehension 
to  utterances  which  I  judge  in  modern  nomenclature 
would  be  allied  to  "Higher  Criticism." 

Our  country  was  now  in  the  throes  of  the  Civil  War. 
The  Church  records  give  frequent  evidence  of  the  sym- 
pathy felt  by  all  hearts  in  those  memorable  years.  Money 
was  freely  given  to  hospitals,  to  Christian  and  Sanitary 


New  England  Church 


Commissions;  men  enlisted  from  our  number  and  some 
prevented  from  going  into  the  war  themselves,  at  large 
cost  sent  substitutes.  At  one  time  a  generous  collection 
of  reading  matter  for  soldiers  was  made  and  sent  for 
distribution  to  Rev.  Jeremiah  Porter  at  Memphis,  and 
again  to  Rev.  J.  H.  Dill,  near  Nashville,  and  a  generous 
collection  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Savage  for 
distribution  among  the  army  hospitals.  It  was  a  solemn 
day  when  on  Thursday,  August  4,  1864,  we  observed  the 
"National  Fast  Day"  appointed  by  President  Lincoln. 
I  quote  from  the  call  issued  by  our  own  church:  "In 
view  of  the  vast  interests  involved  in  our  struggle,  and 
the  critical  period  of  our  country's  history,  and  under  a 
deep  sense  of  our  dependence  on  God  for  the  restoration 
and  perpetuity  of  our  National  Union."  We  gathered 
in  the  morning  in  the  North  Presbyterian,  and  in  the 
evening  in  our  own  church. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  on  the  first  communion 
Sabbath  of  1863  there  united  with  us  D wight  L.  Moody 
by  letter  from  Plymouth  Church  of  our  city,  with  which 
he  had  united  from  the  Mount  Vernon  Church  of  Boston. 
Mr.  Moody  remained  with  us  a  year  and  a  half  when, 
on  December  28,  1864,  he  was  dismissed  to  the  Illinois 
Street  Mission,  a  union  church  organized  at  his  request 
by  a  council  of  pastors  and  delegates  from  city  churches. 
Colonel  Hammond,  a  man  to  whom  Mr.  Moody  owed 
more  than  I  have  ever  seen  in  print,  was  delegate  to  the 
council  from  our  Church. 

As  indicating  conditions  recognized  at  this  time,  I 
quote  a  sentence  from  the  deacon's  report  presented  by 
William  H.  Bradley  at  the  annual  Church  meeting  on 
January  3,  1864:  "The  past  year  was  indeed  a  year  of 
blessing  and  evidences  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  word, 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  23 

continued  affection  between  pastor  and  people,  increased 
size  of  congregations,  the  securing  a  beautiful  lot  for 
future  church  building,  the  pleasant  Church  sociables, 
the  new  organ,  and  good  influences  arising  from  the 
Sabbath  schools." 

In  response  to  invitation,  our  Church  was  represented 
in  the  Boston  council  of  1865  by  Colonel  Hammond,  who 
was  elected  its  first  vice-president,  a  memorable  gathering 
in  its  action, '  'as  out  of  it  has  grown  the  Triennial  National 
Congregational  Council."  For  two  and  a  half  years  Mr. 
Nichols  served  the  Church  as  stated  supply,  this  by  his 
own  preference,  when,  the  Church  desiring  a  settled 
pastor,  he  was  chosen,  but  declined,  and  accepted  a  call 
to  Cincinnati. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  edifice  was  laid 
with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  August  10,  1865,  pre- 
sided over  by  our  former  pastor.  Professor  Bartlett.* 
He  was  assisted  by  Rev.  J.  E.  Roy.  Rev.  John  P.  Gulli- 
ver, D.  D.,  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  who  was  supplying  our 
pulpit  for  a  few  Sabbaths,  made  a  short  address  on  the 
occasion.  Within  a  month  the  Church  voted  a  call  to 
Dr.  Gulliver  to  become  our  pastor,  which  was  accepted, 
and  his  installation  took  place  on  February  20,  1866. 
Two  additional  deacons  were  now  elected,  Ellis  S.  Ches- 
brough  and  E.  W.  Blatchford,  and  soon  after  the  number 
was  again  increased  by  choice  of  Abiel  W.  Tinkham  and 
William  Dickinson,  and  another  thorough  neighborhood 
visitation  was  made. 

The  dedication  of  our  new  house  of  worship  occurred 
on  Thursday,  February  7,  1867.  In  the  spring  of  this 
year  an  earnest  call  was  made  upon  our  Church  to  yield 

*For  Professor  Bartlett's  interesting  address  on  this  occasion,  see  Ap- 
pendix A. 


24  New  England  Church 

its  pastor  to  the  presidency  of  Knox  College,  Galesburg. 
As  the  call  seemed  to  him  one  of  duty,  a  mutual  council 
was  called,  which  after  full  consideration,  advised  his 
acceptance.  Dr.  Gulliver's  services  terminated  on  July 
22,  1867.  There  are  those  with  us  to-day  who  will 
remember  Rev.  S.  Hopkins  Emery,  D.  D.,  of  Quincy,  who 
faithfully  ministered  to  the  Church  during  the  following 
summer  and  autumn. 

In  the  previous  year,  during  the  erection  of  the  church, 
there  had  been  obtained  and  presented  to  the  Church  by 
E.  W.  Blatchford  three  memorial  stones,  associated  with 
the  earliest  history  of  the  Pilgrim  Church,  one  from 
Scrooby  Manor,  England,  the  second  from  Delfthaven, 
Holland,  and  the  third  from  Plymouth  Rock.  These, 
by  vote  of  the  Church,  were  placed  over  our  front  portal, 
where  they  may  be  seen  to-day.  Full  account  of  this 
interesting  matter  is  given  in  the  Church  Records.* 

The  Church  failed  during  the  winter  of  1868  and  1869 
in  its  search  for  a  pastor.  The  general  opinion  was 
expressed  that  a  young  man  of  proper  character  and 
ability  would  best  meet  the  demands  of  this  field,  and 
at  our  request,  Messrs.  Henry  A.  Stimson  and  Leander 
T.  Chamberlain,  then  members  of  the  senior  class  in 
Andover  Seminary,  were  invited  to  preach  for  us,  each 
occupying  the  pulpit  one  Sabbath.  After  a  favorable 
report  by  Deacon  Hammond,  who  went  East  to  learn 
fully  regarding  these  candidates,  the  Church,  appreciating 
the  ready  enthusiasm  of  the  youthful  candidate,  called 
Mr.  Chamberlain  to  the  pastorate,  in  which  he  was 
ordained  and  installed  by  Council  on  October  27,  1869. 

In  this  year,  1868,  a  new  departure  in  the  work  of  the 
American  Board  was  taken  by  organizing  the  '  'Woman's 

*See  this  church  action  in  Appendix  B. 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  25 

Boards" — the  Boston  Board  in  January,  and  the  Woman's 
Board  of  the  Interior  in  Chicago  in  November.  The 
women  of  our  Church,  recognizing  the  new  and  great 
opportunity,  at  once  pledged  to  it  their  loyalty,  and  from 
that  time  to  the  present  have  occupied  prominent  places 
in  its  administration.  We  do  not  forget  that  Mrs.  Leake, 
one  of  our  honored  members,  was  for  twenty-two  and 
one-half  years  its  treasurer,  within  which  time  there 
passed  through  her  hands  gifts  from  the  fourteen  states 
of  the  interior  sums  amounting  to  a  total  of  over  a 
million  and  a  quarter.  Can  you  estimate  the  scrupu- 
lous accuracy  and  wide  correspondence  this  work 
involved  ?  I  would  mention  here  the  rich  gift  we 
made  to  this  cause  in  the  person  of  Miss  Jennie  E. 
Chap  in,  one  of  our  members.  In  the  spring  of  1871  she 
went  out,  appointed  to  the  Bridgeman  School,  in  Pekin, 
China,  and  at  the  same  time  was  adopted  as  their  own 
chosen  representative  by  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society 
of  the  Church.  For  thirty-two  years  has  this  consecrated 
relation  continued.  Another  member,  prompted  by  the 
same  spirit,  left  us  in  1879,  for  work  among  colored 
people,  and  was  for  thirteen  years,  till  her  marriage, 
supported  by  one  of  our  number.*  I  would  also  recog- 
nize in  this  connection  the  unwearied  readiness  to  serve 
which,  through  all  these  changing  years,  has  characterized 
the  women  of  the  New  England  Church.  I  cannot  omit 
, reference  to  the  ofhce  of  ''church  missionary"  for  many 
years  made  necessary  by  the  presence  of  needy  ones 
among  us.  Many  of  you  will  remember  the  interesting 
reports  presented  by  these  faithful,  unobtrusive  workers — 
Mrs.  Telford,  Miss  Warren,  and  Mrs.  Flavelle. 

♦Miss  Ella  W.  Moore,  now  Mrs.  Edgar  H.  Webster,  of  Atlanta  University, 
Georgia. 


26  New  England  Church 

I  can  recognize  at  this  distance  of  time  the  renewed 
interest  with  which  after  a  year's  pastorless  condition, 
the  Church  responded  to  a  call  to  duty.  A  new  spiritual 
life  manifested  itself,  reminding  of  the  blessings  which 
came  to  us  under  Professor  Bartlett,  our  first  pastor. 
Prayer  and  activity  characterized  the  Church  life  during 
the  winter.  At  the  spring  communion  of  1870,  forty-five 
were  added  to  our  number,  nineteen  on  profession  and 
thirty-six  by  letter. 

On  June  4th  of  this  year,  1871,  a  severe  loss  came  to 
us  in  the  death  of  Deacon  Abiel  W.  Tinkham,  whose  life 
is  embalmed  among  the  choice  memories  of  those  years. 
His  early  home  was  in  Maine.  He  united  with  us  No- 
vember I,  1857,  and  was  elected  deacon  January  4,  i860, 
from  which  office  he  resigned  on  January  28,  1863,  being 
called  away  for  a  time  by  Government  to  superintend 
repairs  on  one  of  our  river  and  harbor  fortifications. 
He  was  an  engineer  by  profession  and  long  held  an  im- 
portant place  on  our  Board  of  Public  Works.  Faithful 
in  all  Church  duties,  he  is  specially  remembered  for  his 
most  acceptable  superintendency  of  both  the  home  and 
also  at  times  of  the  Elm  Street  Sunday  Schools.  His 
was  a  beautiful  Christian  character,  chastened  by  years 
of  enfeebled  health.     The  end  was  peace. 

Our  hospitable  sentiment  was  shown  when  soon 
thereafter,  on  motion  of  Dr.  Savage,  our  Church  voted 
to  unite  with  the  other  Congregational  churches  of  the 
city  in  inviting  the  American  Board  to  hold  its  annual 
meeting  here  in  the  fall  of  1872. 

Alas!  Twenty  days  after  this  action  our  city  lay  in 
smoking  ruins.  October  9,  1871,  will  stand  an  historic 
day  in  our  city's  life. 

Time  forbids  the  slightest  details  of  that  startling  event 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  27 

which  kindled  the  sympathies  of  the  world.  The  north 
side  of  our  city,  from  the  lake  to  the  North  Branch,  and 
from  the  river  for  two  and  a  half  miles  north,  was  swept 
over,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  heart  of  the  city  on 
the  South  Side.  Our  beautiful  house  of  worship 
and  the  homes  of  our  whole  congregation,  and  with  but  one 
exception  their  places  of  business,  were  destroyed,  and 
that  escaped  owing  to  its  location  on  the  west  side  of  the 
city.  Yet  in  the  presence  of  this  appalling  disaster, 
determination  and  hope  were  dominant.  And  where 
were  our  members?  With  affectionate  solicitude  was 
this  question  hourly  asked.  Efforts  were  at  once  made 
to  trace  the  scattered  flock,  and  within  a  fortnight  a  call 
was  issued  signed  by  L.  T.  Chamberlain,  pastor,  and 
C.  G.  Hammond,  chairman  of  committee,  addressed  to 
each  member  and  published  in  the  press.  I  quote: 
"The  members  of  the  New  England  Church  and  con- 
gregation are  earnestly  requested  to  meet  at  2  p.  m.  on 
Sunday  next,  the  29th  inst.,  at  the  First  Congregational 
Church,  corner  of  Ann  and  Washington  streets."  What 
a  gathering  was  that!  Ninety-seven  met.  Many  of 
them  for  the  first  time  since  we  were  together  in  our 
dear  church,  now  ghastly  in  its  blackened  walls.  Our 
pastor  presided.    We  sang  together  the  hymn  commencing 

"  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 
Our  hearts  in  Christian  love." 

The  twenty-fourth  Psalm  was  read : 

"The  Lord  is  my  Ught  and  my  salvation;    whom  shall  I  fear? 
The  Lord  is  the  strength  of  my  Ufe;  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ?" 

Our  pastor  spoke  and  prayed,  and  again  we  sang, 

"  I  love  thy  kingdom,  Lord, 
The  house  of  thine  abode." 


28  New  England  Church 

Then  there  was  read  that  startling  fragment  from  a 
hymn-book  found  among  the  ruins  of  the  church, 

Daughter  of  Zion,  from  the  dust 

Exalt  thy  fallen  head. 
Again  in  thy  Redeemer  trust: 

He  calls  thee  from  the  dead. 

Rebuild  thy  walls,  thy  bounds  enlarge, 

And  send  thy  heralds  forth. 
Say  to  the  south,  "  Give  up  thy  charge"; 

And,  "  Keep  not  back,  O  North ! " 

This  historic  treasure,  appropriately  framed  by 
Mrs.  Hjortsburg  is  upon  the  wall  of  the  church  at  the 
left  of  the  pulpit. 

To  this  homeless  band  these  words  were  like  the 
appearance  of  the  cross  in  the  sky  to  Constantine.  The 
clerk  then  stated  that  secured  from  his  residence  were 
preserved  all  the  Church  records  with  copies  of  all  Church 
correspondence,  and  many  deacons',  treasurers',  Sab- 
bath school  superintendents',  and  church  missionaries' 
reports.  Lyman  Baird,  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the 
society,  stated  that  all  books  and  papers  connected  with 
the  society  had  been  preserved  in  a  fire-proof  vault; 
that  our  church  lot  and  the  Lincoln  Park  lots  were  clear, 
and  that  ten  or  twelve  thousand  dollars  could  be  collected 
from  the  insurance  companies.  Words  serious,  but  of 
good  cheer,  were  spoken  by  Deacons  Hammond  and 
Bradley,  Timothy  Dwight,  E.  S.  Chesbrough,  O.  B. 
Green,  Z.  B.  Taylor,  Dr.  Savage,  S.  S.  Bliss,  and  A.  L. 
Coe.  The  following  resolution,  moved  by  Mr.  Ches- 
brough, was  unanimously  adopted:  ''That  the  New 
England  Church  be  rebuilt."  A  committee  of  seven 
elected  to  consider  the  subject,  promptly  reported: 
* 'First,  it  is  expedient  to  proceed  as  soon  as  practicable 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  29 

to  rebuild  the  main  edifice  in  a  commodious  manner. 
Second,  that  our  pastor,  Rev.  L.  T.  Chamberlain,  pro- 
ceed at  once  to  the  East  to  raise  funds  among  our  sister 
churches.  Third,  that  the  pastor  and  deacons  make 
suitable  arrangements  for  Church  services."  I  cannot 
exaggerate  the  promptness  with  which  these  plans  were 
executed. 

The  associations  of  the  old  Church  home  were  dear  to 
us.  A  Sabbath  school,  the  first  on  the  North  Side  after 
the  fire,  was  begun  in  a  temporary  warehouse  on  Clark 
Street  opposite  the  Newberry  Library,  and  within  two 
months  a  chapel  of  four  hundred  sittings  was  built,  where 
regular  preaching  services  were  begun  on  Sunday,  Decem- 
ber 3d,  followed  by  the  celebration  of  the  communion, 
a  never-to-be-forgotten  occasion ! 

I  may  not  omit  grateful  mention  of  the  inestimable 
aid  rendered  in  these  years  by  Deacon  and  Mrs.  Ches- 
brough.  They  promptly  returned  to  their  home  lot,  and 
from  a  modest  cottage  dispensed  a  Christian  hospitality, 
and  in  our  Sunday  school  and  church  building  ministered 
with  a  cheerful  constancy,  which  dwells  to-day  in  our 
memory. 

Less  than  two  years  after,  in  September,  1873,  the 
beautiful  chapel  was  finished,  and  within  three  years  our 
present  church  edifice. 

The  autumn  of  1876  was  made  memorable  in  the 
Christian  history  of  Chicago  by  the  presence  of  Mr. 
Moody,  and  the  series  of  revival  meetings  participated  in 
by  the  city  churches.  To  this  work  Mr.  Chamberlain 
gave  of  his  time  and  strength  by  day  and  night  almost  to 
his  breaking  down.  Our  Church  felt  the  influence  of 
these  meetings  in  awakened  interest  and  large  accessions 
in   the   winter   and   spring   of    1877.     In   the   following 


30  New  England  Church 

summer  our  pastor,  during  his  vacation,  received  an 
earnest  call  to  Norwich,  Conn.,  which  was  accepted  on 
August  17th.  This  action  received  the  approval  of  a 
mutual  council.  The  pastorate  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  is 
one  which  must  ever  stand  out  prominently  in  the  Church's 
history.  During  these  years  occurred  the  great  fire  of 
1871,  with  the  wide  scattering  of  our  flock,  the  rebuilding 
of  our  church,  the  revival  of  1877,  with  the  large  additions 
to  our  membership,  in  all  of  which  were  pre-eminent  his 
ability,  interest,  and  unwearied  activity. 

It  was  not  long  before  a  call  was  extended  to  Rev. 
Arthur  Little,  of  Fond  du  Lac,  Wis.,  which  was  accepted, 
and  he  was  installed  June  18,  1878.  The  twenty-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  church  occurred  on  June  i6th  and  17  th 
of  this  year  and  was  observed  in  a  truly  loyal  way.  The 
historical  address  was  delivered  by  Dr.  Little.  Appro- 
priate Sunday  school  exercises  presided  over  by  William 
Dickinson,  then  superintendent,  were  held  in  the  after- 
noon, and  addresses  were  delivered  in  the  evening  by 
Dr.  Savage  and  Deacons  Hammond  and  Blatchford. 

It  was  during  Dr.  Little's  pastorate  in  1879  that  another 
efficient  philanthropy  had  its  origin  in  this  church,  the 
New  West  Education  Commission,  for  the  promotion 
of  Christian  civilization  of  Utah  and  the  adjacent  states. 
Early  meetings  of  conference  were  held  in  one  of  our 
homes.  Among  its  first  directors  were  Dr.  Simeon  Gil- 
bert, Arthur  Little,  Charles  G.  Hammond,  and  E.  W. 
Blatchford.  Dr.  Gilbert,  to  whose  wise  foresight  and 
able  presentation  of  the  subject  in  ministerial  and  asso- 
ciational  gatherings,  and  from  his  editorial  chair  in  the 
Advance,  the  society  largely  owed  its  success,  was  chosen 
vice-president.  Colonel  Hammond,  treasurer,  and  E.  W. 
Blatchford,   secretary.     Its  first  annual   convention  was 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  31 

held  in  our  Church  June,  1881.  I  may  not  detain  you 
with  details  of  the  steady  growth  of  this  beneficent 
work.  The  receipts  in  the  first  year  were  over  $26,000.00, 
of  which  Colonel  Hammond  gave  $1,000.00.  He  after- 
wards gave  $7,750.00,  and  his  name  appears  on  "wSalt 
Lake  Academy"  and  "Hammond  Hall."  Its  collections 
to  the  present  time  have  been  nearly  three-quarters  of  a 
million,  but  to  compute  the  influences  that  have  gone 
out  from  it  into  the  dark  places  of  our  country  is  impossible. 
This  work  is  now  being  carried  on  by  the  American 
Education  Society. 

In  this  year  the  Sedgwick  Street  Mission  was  organized, 
an  enterprise  which  at  once  enlisted  the  enthusiastic 
support  of  the  Church,  which  was  never  withdrawn  until 
changed  conditions  led  to  its  adoption  by  ihe  City  Mission- 
ary Society.  I  would  also  mention  the  dedication  of  the 
New  Lincoln  Park  Church,  an  event  of  special  interest 
to  us  as  the  completion  of  the  building  was  secured  by 
the  generous  gift  from  Colonel  Hammond  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars.  One  of  the  most  beloved  of  our 
Christian  institutions,  the  Chicago  City  Missionary 
Society,  had  its  initial  steps  taken  in  our  Church,  when 
at  a  meeting  held  on  April  6,  1882,  an  executive  committee 
was  elected,  of  which  Deacon  Gates  was  made  chairman, 
who,  with  William  H.  Bradley,  was  among  its  charter 
members.  Our  members  have,  from  the  beginning, 
been  on  its  faithful  Board  of  Directors,  and  up  to  the 
present  date  our  Church  leads  all  others  in  her  contri- 
butions, a  total  of  $63,361.00.  I  mention  this  in  this 
family  gathering,  and  with  no  boastful  spirit.  In  one  of 
our  homes  also  began  the  Bohemian  work,  with  which 
our  dear  Deacon  Gates  was  so  intimately  associated. 

The  year  1883  opened    with  an   event  that  drew  out 


New  England  Church 


our  deepest  sympathies  for  our  pastor,  the  sudden  death 
of  his  wife,  which  occurred  while  Dr.  Little  was  preaching 
for  our  neighbor,  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church. 

During  Dr.  Little's  pastorate,  within  the  space  of  two 
years,  there  came  to  us  a  double  and  sore  affliction  in  the 
taking  to  their  other  home  of  two  of  our  deacons.  Colonel 
Hammond  on  April  15,  1884,  and  Mr.  Chesbrough  on 
August  18,  1886.  With  the  memory  of  both  is  the  history 
of  the  New  England  Church  inseparably  intertwined. 
Time  forbids  a  delineation  of  these  noble  characters,  the 
one  of  stalwart  mold,  a  born  leader  of  men,  whether  as 
Michigan's  auditor-general,  or  as  superintendent  of 
the  Michigan  Central  Railway,  then  just  completed  to  our 
city,  or  as  the  head  of  the  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy 
Road,  or  of  the  Union  Pacific,  or  as  vice-president  of  the 
Pullman  Company,  Colonel  Hammond  was  always  the 
same  clear,  decided,  wise,  conscientious  administrator  of 
large  responsibilities,  traits  which  he  brought  with  a 
consecrated  power  into  his  church  life  and  into  the  broader 
relations  of  our  denomination  East  and  West.  The  other, 
Deacon  Chesbrough,  a  man  of  the  St.  John  type,  marked 
by  gentleness  and  warmth  of  friendship,  the  accomplished 
man  of  science,  associated  as  a  pioneer  with  some  of  the 
important  engineering  work  of  our  country,  whether  sur- 
veying an  early  railroad  through  the  wild  mountains  of  the 
Carolinas,  or  blessing  Boston  by  bringing  into  it  the  pure 
Cochituate  water,  or  as  the  splendid  engineer  of  our  own 
city,  placing  it  under  lasting  obligations  by  tunneling  the 
lake  for  our  water  supply,  devising  the  difficult 
sewerage  system,  and  planning  the  connection  between 
the  lake  and  the  Mississippi;  thus  placing  his  name 
among  the  first  in  his  profession;  and  in  his  private  life 
the   devout    Christian   gentleman    daily    illustrating   the 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  ^;^ 

spirit  of  the  Master.  A  friend  wrote  of  the  late  Senator 
Dawes,  ''In  his  home  he  was  ever  the  true  great  soul; 
his  gentleness,  his  sympathy,  his  chivalry,  his  thought- 
fulness  of  others  made  his  home  the  center  of  the  truest 
hospitality" — such  was  Chesbrough. 

In  December,  1888,  Dr.  Little  closed  his  pastorate  of 
eleven  years,  yielding  to  a  pressing  call,  more  than  once 
renewed,  from  the  church  in  Dorchester,  Mass.  Efforts 
made  by  the  Church  to  induce  his  continuance  with  us 
failed.  With  his  geniality  of  temper,  broad  sympathy, 
and  devoted  pastoral  ministrations  in  joy  and  sorrow, 
he  has  left  with  us  a  memory  prized  to-day  in  many  a 
household.  We  had  hoped  for  his  presence  with  us  on 
this  occasion. 

After  Dr.  Little's  departure  the  Church  was  favored  in 
securing  for  six  months  the  services  as  acting  pastor  of 
Rev.  Norman  Seaver,  D.  D. 

During  this  summer  of  1890  Caleb  F.  Gates,  for 
eight  years  a  deacon  in  this  Church,  was  suddenly  taken 
from  us.  My  intimacy  with  Mr.  Gates  of  thirty-four 
years  and  my  association  with  him  in  business  of  a  quarter 
of  a  century,  prompts  a  fuller  tribute  than  the  present 
hour  admits.  His  rare  and  symmetrical  character  as  '  'A 
Christian  Business  Man"  has  been  well  portrayed  in  a 
volume  by  his  son,  Rev.  Caleb  Frank  Gates.  I  wish 
the  book  might  be  in  each  of  our  homes.  But  business 
enterprise,  notable  and  honorable  as  it  was,  is  not  the 
characteristic  to  be  emphasized  at  this  hour.  He  was  in 
a  peculiar  sense  Christ's  man,  loyal  and  true,  ready,  as  all 
who  knew  him  will  testify,  to  respond  to  every  claim  of  his 
Divine  Master.  After  a  brief  illness,  on  June  9,  1890,  the 
summons  came,  and  with  an  assurance  of  peace  within, 
he  left  us. 


34  New  England  Church 

The  next  incumbent  of  the  pulpit  was  the  Rev.  James 
Gibson  Johnson,  D.  D.  of  New  London,  Conn.,  who  was 
installed  on  March  ii,  1891.  On  November  i8th  of 
this  year  Robert  W.  Patton  was  elected  deacon  and  con- 
tinued in  the  office  till  five  years  later,  when  he  changed 
his  residence  to  Highland  Park.  On  May  31,  1893, 
W.  M.  R.  French  was  also  elected  deacon,  and  remained 
in  office  till  his  resignation,  September  5,  1894,  on  his 
removal  to  his  suburban  home. 

The  Church  proved  its  interest  in  the  foreign  missionary 
work  by  voting  in  June,  1895,  to  grant  a  furlough  to  the 
pastor  to  visit  the  mission  fields  of  Japan,  as  a  member 
of  a  deputation  sent  out  by  the  American  Board. 

Less  than  two  years  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Gates, 
another  honored  officer  of  the  Church  was  suddenly 
called  away — Deacon  William  H.  Bradley,  a  member 
for  thirty  years,  and  a  deacon  for  twenty-eight.  On  the 
afternoon  of  a  busy  day  the  summons  came;  his  head 
fell  upon  his  breast,  and  the  spirit  took  its  flight.  He 
died  ''in  the  harness,"  as  he  himself  had  hoped.  Mr. 
Bradley  came,  in  1837,  a  youth  of  twenty-one,  from 
Ridgeland,  Conn.,  to  Galena.  His  education  and  char- 
acter at  once  inspired  confidence,  and  he  was  elected  and 
re-elected  to  clerkships  in  county  and  state  courts  until, 
in  1855,  he  was  appointed  by  Judges  McLean  and  Drum- 
mond,  clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States, 
the  duties  of  which  he  discharged  for  thirty-seven  years 
till  his  death.  He  occupied  many  important  positions  of 
trust,  among  which  was  the  trusteeship  of  the  Newberry 
Estate,  followed  by  the  Newberry  Library.  But  in  this 
gathering  it  is  Mr.  Bradley's  distinctive  Christian  per- 
sonality that  I  would  emphasize.  In  1832  as  a  youth 
of  sixteen  he  confessed  his  Saviour.     From  that  time  to 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  35 

the  day  of  his  death  every  natural  trait  of  character  glowed 
under  the  inspiration  of  this  faith;  his  kindness  and 
courtesy,  his  unfailing  consideration  of  others,  his  gentle- 
ness and  sweetness  of  spirit,  will  abide  with  us  as  a  legacy 
forever.  Dr.  Savage  and  our  pastor  spoke  at  his  funeral 
service.  An  able  and  just  memorial  tribute  which,  at 
the  request  of  the  Church,  was  prepared  by  General 
Leake,  is  spread  in  full  upon  our  records.  Mr.  Bradley 
permanently  associated  his  name  with  this  audience  room 
by  the  gift  of  the  baptismal  font,  presented  in  memory  of 
his  daughter-in-law  and  her  two  sons.  The  old  font  was 
obtained  by  Mr.  Bradley  from  Scrooby  Manor,  England, 
where  it  was  associated  with  the  first  Pilgrim  Church  of 
our  denomination.  The  full  and  interesting  historical 
statement  prepared  by  Mr.  Bradley,  and  the  action  of 
the  Church  thereon,  are  preserved  in  full  in  the  Church 
Records.*  It  is  of  interest  that  the  babe  of  six  months 
who  first  received  the  baptismal  seal  from  this  font,  has 
within  the  past  week  taken  her  honorable  diploma  from 
an  Eastern  college. 

On  September  3,  1895,  there  passed  from  us  Deacon 
Caleb  J.  Richardson,  for  nearly  thirty  years  a  faithful 
member,  and  who  for  thirteen  years  had  served  the  Church 
as  deacon.  He  came  to  us  from  his  old  home  in  Pennsyl- 
vania where  he  had  received  a  college  education  and  been 
admitted  to  the  bar.  After  practicing  his  profession  for 
a  few  years,  his  Christian  heart  responded  to  the  call  for 
work  among  our  soldiers  during  the  Civil  War,  and  he 
became  an  active  member  of  the  Christian  Commission. 
On  his  return  home  he  accepted  an  election  to  the  librarian- 
ship  of  the  Chicago  Law  Library,  retained  till  his  death. 
His  illness  was  long  and  painful,  but  borne  with  Christian 

♦For  this  statement  see  Appendix  C. 


36  New  England  Church 

patience.  We  miss  him  in  his  accustomed  place  in  the 
church,  and  in  the  prayer-meeting.  He  has  left  behind 
him  an  enduring  memory  of  a  singularly  faithful  Christian 
man.  His  long-time  friends,  Dr.  Savage  and  Dr.  Gilbert, 
spoke  the  universal  sentiment  of  the  Church  in  their 
impressive  addresses  at  the  funeral  services  held  in  this 
house. 

On  Sunday,  April  25,  1897,  at  the  close  of  the  morning 
service,  to  the  surprise  of  the  Church,  our  pastor,  Dr. 
Johnson,  presented  his  resignation.  A  conference  with 
the  pastor  as  to  the  continuance  of  his  labors  was  held, 
the  result  of  which,  as  related  by  the  committee  was, 
in  Dr.  Johnson's  words,  that '  'as  the  essential  facts  of  the 
situation  remained  unchanged,  he  deemed  it  unwise  to 
withdraw  his  resignation."  A  council,  as  requested  by 
our  pastor,  was  called  and  approved  the  dissolution  of 
the  pastoral  relation.  Dr.  Johnson  returned  to  New 
England  where  he  soon  found  a  congenial  pastorate  in 
Connecticut. 

I  come  now  to  the  closing  pastorate  of  this  half-century. 
Heretofore,  with  one  exception — Dr.  Little — have  our 
pastors  come  to  us  like  "the  wise  men,  from  the  east." 
Our  latest  gift  came  from  the  same  direction  and  across 
the  water.  It  was  a  good  providence  for  the  cause  of 
highest  Christian  education  throughout  our  land,  when 
William  Douglas  Mackenzie  was  called  from  his  Edin- 
burgh home  to  the  chair  of  Systematic  Theology  in  the 
Chicago  Theological  Seminary.  It  was  not  in  the 
thought  of  the  Seminary  Committee  or  of  the  nominee 
that  his  call  would  include  making  practical  application 
of  these  theological  truths  to  our  waiting  Church.  Yet 
such  was  the  plan  of  Him  who  "sees  the  end  from  the 
beginning."     Gratefully  do  we  recognize  these  five  years 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  37 

of  his  instructive  and  inspiring  teaching,  and  our  united 
good  wishes,  tinged  with  deep  regret,  accompany  him  as 
he  leaves  us  for  his  New  England  field  of  labor.  For 
his  faithful  associates  in  the  pastorates  would  we  speak 
with  truly  thankful  hearts — Rev.  Horace  L.  Strain,  now 
pastor,  with  growing  success,  of  the  First  Congregational 
Church  at  Decatur,  in  our  own  state,  and  Rev.  B.  S. 
Winchester  still  with  us  with  constant  and  most  accept- 
able labors  ministering  to  our  many  calls.  May  he  still 
continue. 

During  this  pastorate  the  following  events  of  special 
interest  may  be  mentioned: 

Amendments  to  the  Church  rules  adopted  December 
26,  1900. 

The  choice  of  Rev.  James  Smith,  of  Ahmednagar, 
India,  as  our  foreign  missionary. 

The  election  of  John  R.  Montgomery  and  George  D. 
Holmes  as  deacons. 

The  payment  of  the  Church  debt  of  $14,500.00,  con- 
tributed by  "anonymous  donors"  and  gratefully  an- 
nounced to  the  Church  at  the  annual  meeting  on  January 
8,  1902. 

I  should  mention  here  that  twice  before  in  our  history 
the  Church  has  been  relieved  of  a  similar  incubus  of  debt 
by  generous  subscriptions  of  the  Church  and  congregation, 
in  many  instances  at  keen  personal  sacrifice;  first,  upon 
the  completion  of  the  church  building  in  1867  of  $41,500.00 
and  second  of  $30,000.00  in  1873  upon  its  rebuilding  after 
the  fire. 

On  July  25,  1 901,  after  a  protracted  illness.  Deacon 
Albert  L.  Coe  left  us.  Mr.  Coe  had  been  a  member  of 
the  Church  over  forty-five  years,  uniting  with  it  on  pro- 
fession on  January  i,  1856,  three  years  after  he  came  to 


1,8  New  England  Church 

Chicago  from  his  early  home  in  Ohio.  Thirty-three  years 
he  had  been  one  of  our  deacons.  After  a  few  years  in 
business,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  influenced  by 
patriotism,  intensified  by  his  early  anti-slavery  asso- 
ciations, he  enlisted  in  the  Fifty-fifth  Infantry.  He  served 
in  a  number  of  important  battles,  under  Generals  Pope 
and  Rosecrans,  Sheridan,  Thomas,  Grant,  and  Sherman, 
and  took  part  in  the  ''Grand  Review"  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  His  business  life  since  in  our  city  has  been  one  of 
integrity  and  success.  His  private  life  was  consistent 
with  his  profession ;  with  modesty  and  faithfulness  he  met 
the  claims  of  the  Church  and  society,  till  ill-health  com- 
pelled a  retirement  from  his  accustomed  activities.  A 
large  circle  of  friends  and  relatives  will  cherish  his  memory. 

I  wish  there  were  time  to  set  forth  the  hearty  support 
both  in  time  and  money  given  by  our  Church  to  the  various 
benevolent  societies — the  American  Board,  the  American 
Missionary  Association,  the  Home  Missionary  Society, 
the  Education  Society,  the  Church  Building  Society,  the 
Sunday  School  and  Publishing  Society. 

These  organizations  have,  through  all  the  years, 
looked  to  our  Church,  and  not  in  vain,  for  substantial 
aid,  as  has  been  warmly  testified  to  by  letters  received  by 
me  from  their  representatives  at  this  interesting  epoch. 

Thus  within  the  brief  limit  allotted  have  I  endeavored 
to  sketch  something  of  the  half-century  life  of  the  New 
England  Church,  yet  how  small  a  portion  have  I  been 
able  to  give  of  that  panorama  of  its  life  that  has  passed 
before  my  eyes  during  these  weeks.  I  can  present  you 
with  carefully  prepared  statistical  tables,  showing  up 
to  to-day  admissions  to  our  membership  of  1875,  including 
796  on  professions  of  faith,  and  1,079  by  letter;  and  of 
1,177  dismissions,  157  deaths,  and  251  dropped  from  our 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  39 

number,  leaving  our  present  membership  290.  Think 
of  such  a  stream  of  Christian  Hfe  flowing  through  these 
pews  within  these  fifty  years.  Does  it  not  emphasize  the 
fact  that  the  New  England  Church  has  become,  as  it 
were,  a  training  school  for  the  suburban  churches? 

The  attempt  is  futile  to  reveal  by  figures  the  true  life 
and  power  of  a  Church  of  Christ.  Many  homes  rise 
before  me  where  the  atmosphere  of  unselfish  devotion 
welcoming  little  children  as  God's  best  gift,  trains  them 
for  lives  of  faithful  service.  In  such  homes  resides  the 
Church's  power. 

I  cannot  close  without  a  word  of  welcome,  in  which 
I  know  every  heart  unites,  to  those  former  members,  who 
have  come  to  us  to-day.  The  Mother  Church  has  sorely 
missed  you.     Your  presence  to-day  gives  us  cheer. 

As  I  close  these  half-century  memories,  there  comes 
to  me  a  new  vision  of  the  value  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 
'  'What  would  its  loss  not  mean  to  the  community— to  the 
world?  How  many  hospitals,  asylums,  or  ''settlements" 
or  public  philanthropies  would  there  be  were  there  no 
churches?  How  much  honor,  how  much  integrity,  how 
much  trust  and  confidence  between  man  and  man  if  there 
were  none  of  these  reservoirs  of  moral  and  spiritual  life  ?" 
In  the  words  of  another,  '  'The  things  that  I  care  for  most 
in  our  Church  are  not  those  which  divide  us  from  other 
Christians,  but  those  which  unite  us  to  them.  The  things 
that  I  love  most  in  Christianity  are  those  which  give  it 
power  to  save  and  satisfy,  to  console  and  cheer,  to  inspire 
and  bless,  human  hearts  and  lives.  The  Church  that  the 
twentieth  century  will  hear  most  gladly  and  honor  most 
sincerely  will  have  two  marks :  It  will  be  the  Church  that 
preaches  the  central  truth  of  Christianity  most  clearly, 
strongly,   and   joyfully;  it  will  be  the  Church  that  finds 


40  New  England  Church 

and  shows  most  happiness  in  living  the  simple  life  and 
doing  good  in  the  world.     May  that  Church  be  ours." 

For  it,  let  our  prayers  ascend;  to  it,  let  us  consecrate 
our  best,  united  by  that  love  for  our  common  Master, 
whose  love  to  us  is  most  tenderly  revealed  as  we  now 
come  to  the  table  spread  by  Himself. 


ANNIVERSARY  SERMON 

BY  REV.  WILLIAM  DOUGLAS  MACKENZIE,  D.  D. 

Pastor  of  the  New  England  Church 


THE  GLORY  OF  CHRIST  THE  GLORY  OF  THE  CHURCH 

"Unto  Him  that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask 
or  think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto  Him  be  the  glory  in 
the  Church  and  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  all  generations  for  ever  and  ever." — 
Ephesians  iii.  20,  21. 

The  apostle  has  been  praying  for  his  friends.  His 
mind  has  been  fastened  upon  those  blessings  which  are 
highest,  higher  than  the  noblest  gifts  of  earth  or  the  fairest 
heritage  of  all  the  generations.  For  those  whom  he 
loves  he  prays  that  the  Spirit  of  God  may  enter  into  them, 
and  become  the  very  strength  of  their  lives,  that  the  faith  of 
Jesus  Christ  may  inspire  them,  that  their  whole  active, 
conscious,  intelligent  being  may  be  rooted  and  grounded 
in  love,  and  that  this  love  may  be  that  love  surpassing 
ken  which  Christ  Himself  cherishes  toward  them.  Nay, 
piling  phrase  on  phrase,  as  the  dawning  of  his  faith  and 
his  interior  desire  strive  towards  some  climax  of  blessing, 
he  reaches  at  last  a  thought,  a  desire,  a  prayer,  which  sur- 
passes all  and  includes  all,  ''that  you  may  be  filled  unto 
all  the  fullness  of  God."  Then  it  is  that  the  pent-up 
emotions  of  his  heart,  stirred  mightily  by  the  over- 
whelming experience  which  he  has  dared  to  desire  for  his 
friends,  break  out  into  the  doxology  which  I  have  dared 
to  take  as  our  text  to-night:  "Now  unto  him  that  is 
able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask 
or  think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us,  unto 

41 


42  New  England  Church 

him  be  the  glory  in  the  Church  and  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  all 
generations  for  ever  and  ever." 

I. 

We  cannot  celebrate  the  life  and  work  of  any  one 
church  unless  we  grasp  somewhat  firmly  and  clearly  the 
meaning  of  that  universal  institution  which  we  call  the 
Church  of  Christ.  For  the  Church  here  or  there,  called 
by  this  name  or  that,  is  a  portion  and  a  representative  of  a 
larger  whole,  of  the  Church  which  knows  no  one  language, 
is  limited  by  no  local  habitation,  and  even  carries  its  life 
and  extends  its  membership  beyond  the  bounds  of  time. 
As  it  would  be  impossible  to  understand  thoroughly  the 
constitution,  spirit,  and  power  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  or  of 
the  city  of  Chicago,  apart  from  the  life  of  the  American 
nation,  even  so  we  cannot  estimate  the  past  nor  plan  for 
the  future  of  this  New  England  Church  unless  we  see  and 
know,  believe  and  love,  the  wider  life,  the  vaster  power, 
the  richer  experience  from  which  it  has  drawn  its  exist- 
ence, and  for  which  it  has  done  its  work, — the  universal 
Christian  Church  of  nineteen  hundred  years. 

But  even  the  Church  cannot  be  understood  in  and  by 
itself.  Its  glory,  its  life,  depends  on  the  glory  and  life  of 
one  Person,  even  Jesus  Christ.  To  understand  it  we  must 
study  Him.  All  that  the  Church  is  or  can  be  it  derives 
from  Him. 

The  glory  of  God  first  appeared  fully  and  unmistakably 
in  His  Son.  Earlier  revelations  of  the  Divine  power  and 
Godhead  were  partial  and  merely  prophetic.  Of  themselves 
they  could  not  create  a  Church,  they  could  not  save  a  world. 
Their  glory  disappears  in  Him,  and  men  discover  that  after 
Christ,  as  after  the  sunrise,  the  glistening  stars  that  com- 
posed one  long  night  have  been  swallowed  up,  their  use 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  43 

exhausted,  their  glory  wholly  absorbed  in  His.  The  com- 
ing of  Jesus  Christ;  His  conscious  divinity;  His  divine 
power;  His  perfect  knowledge  of  God  and  his  unerring 
knowledge  of  man ;  His  pure  grace  unsoiled  by  the  union 
of  His  nature  with  humanity,  unembittered  by  its  contact 
with  the  hostile  spirit  of  sin;  His  love,  the  love  of  God's 
own  Son,  which  led  him  to  make  of  Himself  a  sacrifice  for 
man;  His  personal  glory,  which  could  not  be  holden  of 
death,  which  broke  through  the  grave  and  revealed  Him 
to  His  disciples  and  to  mankind  as  the  opener  of  heaven,  as 
the  exemplar  of  man's  future,  and  pledge  of  victory  to  all 
believers;  the  coming  of  His  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  the  rev- 
elation and  the  medium  of  His  own  perpetual  presence 
within  the  Church,  at  the  very  sources  of  the  history  of  our 
race, — all  these  qualities  of  His  Person,  all  these  deeds  of 
His  will,  all  these  relations  in  which  He  now  stands  to  the 
world,  constitute  the  very  glory  of  God.  Poets,  philoso- 
phers, saints,  prophets — the  utmost  sanctity  and  peer- 
less genius — cannot  picture  a  fuller,  a  more  real,  a  more 
heartbreaking,  a  more  inspiring  revelation  of  God  Himself, 
our  Lord  and  our  Redeemer,  our  Father  and  our  Friend. 
There  is  no  other  way  in  which  God  can  be  conceived  of  as 
making  Himself  known  to  us.  His  glory  has  been  seen 
with  the  eye.  His  word  has  been  heard  with  the  ear  of  man, 
his  character  has  done  its  work.  His  Spirit  has  shown  its 
moral  quality,  its  infinite  energy,  its  marvelous  purpose, 
in  Christ  Jesus. 

But  that  is  not  all.  Some  point  of  contact  was  needed 
to  bring  this  glory  of  God,  thus  bodied  forth  in  one  Person, 
into  relation  with  the  whole  race.  This  had  to  be  done 
gradually,  under  the  conditions  of  space  and  time,  and  it 
was  done,  it  is  being  done,  through  the  Church.  It  was  on 
behalf  of  his  disciples.  His  incipient  Church,  that  Christ 


44  New  England  Church 

prayed  in  these  words :  '  'The  glory  which  Thou  hast  given 
me  I  have  given  unto  them:  that  they  may  be  one,  even 
as  we  are  one,  I  in  them  and  Thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be 
perfected  into  one;  that  the  world  may  know  that 
Thou  didst  send  me,  and  lovedst  them  even  as  Thou  lovedst 
me."  There  we  have  at  once  the  origin  and  the  unison 
and  the  power  of  the  Church  summed  up  in  words  of  in- 
tensified significance.  Jesus,  looking  even  upon  those 
eleven  tried  and  disappointed  men,  who  were  now  awaiting 
a  tragedy  which  is  their  despair,  says  that  He  has  conveyed 
to  them  His  own  glory,  and  that  through  them  the  world  is 
to  understand  Him  and  to  behold  God's  laws.  That  is  to 
say,  the  work  of  the  Son  of  God  with  all  its  glory  could  not 
become  a  permanent  and  a  redeeming  force  in  history  ex- 
cept through  the  life  of  His  Church.  In  that  Church  His 
own  life  is  to  be  and  has  been  implanted.  His  glory  has 
been  given  to  it. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  Apostle  Paul  even  as  he  wore  on 
toward  the  close  of  his  splendid  life  of  sacrificial  service, 
the  Church  grew  to  be  ever  more  wonderful.  A  thing  half 
of  heaven  as  well  as  of  earth,  it  is  spoken  of  in  terms  which 
could  be  lavished  on  no  other  institution  the  world 
ever  saw.  In  it  the  visible  and  the  invisible  strangely  meet 
and  mingle  in  a  realized  fellowship  and  union.  Christ 
is  in  the  Church;  it  is  His  bride,  beautiful,  pure,  and  ten- 
der in  His  eyes  as  any  maiden  ever  was  to  him  who  made 
her  his  own ;  it  is  His  body,  as  necessary  to  Him  who  is 
its  head  as  the  members  of  our  body  severally  and  col- 
lectively are  to  us;  it  is  the  temple  of  God,  a  wondrous 
building  made  of  living  stones,  made  of  the  warm  hearts 
of  love  and  faith,  extending  its  limits  over  the  earth 
and  raising  its  turrets  beyond  the  clouds  into  heavenly 
places,  home  of  those  praises  which  are  sweeter  in  the  ear 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  45 

of  God  than  the  harps  of  all  angels — praises  of  stained  con- 
sciences made  clean  in  the  waters  of  forgiveness;  praises 
of  dead  spirits  revived  with  immortal  hope;  praises  of  weak 
wills  and  wayward  made  strong  and  true;  praises  of  foul 
imaginations  washed  into  pureness,  more  dazzling  than 
the  snow ;  praises  of  bereaved  hearts  who  know  that  those 
who  have  vanished  are  really  alive  behind  the  veil  of  sense 
and  sight;  praises  of  the  dying  themselves  as  they  find 
themselves  stronger  and  stronger  in  hope  and  expectant 
love  while  the  breath  grows  feeble  and  the  eyes  wax  dim. 
There  is  another  side,  of  course.  The  Church  has 
always  been  composed  of  human  beings,  of  men  and 
women  who  were  still  living  in  the  flesh  and  whose  hearts 
were  the  scene  of  a  lifelong  spiritual  and  moral  conflict. 
When  Jesus  offered  that  prayer  He  knew  that  those  men 
were  not  yet  individually  made  perfect.  When  Paul 
wrote  his  noblest  passages  about  the  glory  of  the  Church 
of  Christ,  he  knew  that  he  was  writing  to  those  whom  he 
had  to  rebuke  for  much  unworthy  life  and  faith  and  even 
for  hideous  sin.  From  that  day  to  this  the  Church  has 
always  been  sensitive  about  its  own  sins,  its  failures,  its 
blunders.  No  outsider  can  criticise  it  more  harshly,  more 
painfully,  than  it  criticises  itself.  What  great  writer  in  the 
history  of  the  Church  has  not  bemoaned  the  unworthy 
lives,  the  wavering  faith,  the  earthly  mind  of  its  members  ? 
To-day  that  Church  of  Christ,  more  widely  spread  than 
ever,  gaining  every  year,  triumphs  whose  very  monotony 
has  ceased  to  surprise  us,  is  bitterly  attacked  both  from 
without  and  within,  by  the  foes  who  would  destroy  it  and 
the  friends  who  would  nourish  and  perfect  its  life. 
Who  cannot  speak  easily  of  what  it  has  not  done,  to  stay 
the  hand  of  war,  to  solve  vast  social  problems,  to  remove 
many  a  disastrous  curse  from  the  statute  books,  the  law 


46  New  England  Church 

courts,  the  political  practices,  the  social  organization  of 
every  Christian  land  ?  We  have  all  thought  of  these  with 
pain  and  heard  them  publicly  denounced  with  shame. 
And  yet,  and  yet — the  glory  of  Christ  is  in  His  Church. 
Its  failure  is  not  at  all  a  proof  of  His  weakness,  it  merely 
proves  the  awful  and  immeasurable  power  of  the  evils 
with  which  through  it  he  must  contend.  Its  conquests,  the 
changes  which  it  has  brought  about,  the  elevation  of  human 
ideals,  the  purifying  of  human  relations,  these  are  His 
work  and  His  glory.  Through  the  Church  He  has  wrought 
them,  that  the  world  may  believe  that  He  came  from  God 
and  that  God  has  loved  us  even  as  He  loved  His  Son. 
'  'Unto  Him  be  the  glory  in  the  Church  and  in  Christ  Jesus 
unto  all  generations  for  ever  and  ever." 

II. 

And  now  of  this  individual  Church  of  Christ  we  may 
fittingly  say  a  few  words,  for  the  New  Testament  shows  us 
that  whatever  is  said  of  the  whole  Church  must  be  affirmed 
of  each  group  of  Christian  believers  who  call  themselves  by 
His  name.  The  little  group  does  not  merely  possess  some 
of  the  attributes  which  belong  to  the  great  Church  univer- 
sal; it  possesses  them  all.  No  quality,  however  sublime, 
no  privilege,  however  glorious,  no  responsibility,  however 
terrible,  may  be  disclaimed  by  any  Church  anywhere  in 
our  world.  It  possesses  them  all,  or  else  it  is  not  a  Church. 
Whatever  is  true  of  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament  must 
be  true  of  the  New  England  Congregational  Church  in 
Chicago.  Is  that  the  bride  of  the  Lamb  ?  Then  this  must 
be.  Is  that  the  temple  of  God's  Spirit  ?  Then  this  must 
be.  Is  that  as  close  to  Christ  as  the  body  is  to  the  head  of 
each  person  ?  Then  this  must  be.  Is  the  glory  of  God 
shining  through  the  Apostolic  Church  ?   Then  it  is,  it  must 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  47 

be,  shining  through  this  Church,  if  so  be  that  we  are  not 
reprobate,  if  so  be  that  we  have  any  right  at  all  to  be 
called  a  living  Church  of  the  living  Lord. 

This  morning  we  listened  to  an  invaluable  history  of 
this  Church  since  it  was  organized,  on  June  15,  1853.  Mr. 
Blatchford  told  us  of  the  pastors  who  have  been  here.  He 
told  us  of  the  quality  of  men  and  women  who  worshipped 
and  worked  here.  His  story  proved  to  us  that  they  had 
all  the  gifts  which  by  the  New  Testament  are  attributed 
to  a  true  Church  of  Christ.  In  these  fifty  years  we  have 
had  here  those  who,  ordained  or  unordained,  could  stand 
in  the  place  of  the  prophet  and  exhort  to  all  holy  living  and 
conquering  faith.  We  have  had  humble  ministering  ser- 
vants, men  and  women  who  had  the  gift  of  helping  their 
fellow  mortals  in  a  hundred  different  ways;  we  have  had 
teachers  in  pulpit  and  class-room;  we  have  had  those  to 
whom  God  gave  the  Holy  Spirit  of  liberality  which  is  as 
truly  a  divine  gift  as  it  is  necessary  to  the  healthful  growth 
and  beneficent  influence  of  the  Church  in  the  world;  we 
have  had  our  leaders  who  could  guide  and  rule  the  Church 
in  that  considerate  and  faithful  manner  which  becomes 
the  Church,  the  most  democratic  institution  in  the  world ; 
we  have  had  those  who  could  deal  tenderly  and  mercifully 
with  the  erring  and  the  sinful.  If  all  had  not  the  same 
gift,  yet  all  the  gifts,  as  the  history  of  this  Church  bears 
ample  witness,  seem  to  have  been  granted  by  the  merciful 
love  of  God  to  this  New  England  Congregational  Church. 

It  is  not  ours  to  dwell  on  mere  figures  to  prove  these 
things.  Else  could  we  name  the  nearly  two  thousand 
members  who  have  passed  through  our  ranks,  the 
many  thousands  of  children  who  have  been  taught  in  its 
various  schools,  the  countless  ministries  of  charity  and 
mercy  which  its  members  have  gone  forth  week  by  week 


New  England  Church 


from  this  place  to  carry  on  in  this  city ;  the  many  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  which  the  people,  who  have  been 
taught  and  inspired  here,  have  given  to  all  kinds  of  good 
work  at  home  and  abroad.  God  only  knows  how  many 
sins  have  been  covered  here,  how  many  tears  have  been 
shed  and  wiped  away  here,  how  many  souls  have  been  con- 
verted, or  rebuked,  or  comforted  or  strengthened  by 
the  varied  ministries  of  this  Church.  It  is  when  you 
think  of  these  things,  when  you  brood  over  them,  that  you 
realize  the  beauty,  the  wonder,  the  glory  of  a  Church  of 
Christ  Jesus.  Then  you  know  that,  as  the  apostle  says 
in  our  text,  there  is  a  "power  which  worketh  in  us."  Who 
could  have  wrought  all  this  beauty  and  tenderness  and 
purity  and  love  and  hope  and  joy  in  and  through  this 
Church?  No  pastor  nor  deacon,  no  woman's  heart, 
though  all  saintly  through  and  through,  no  preacher's 
power,  though  fired  with  prophetic  passion.  It  is  the 
very  presence  and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ  Himself. 

Hence,  as  to  the  future  we  may  well  take  heart  of  grace. 
The  Church  which  began  with  twenty-one  members  and 
made  this  history  of  fifty  years,  can  begin  now,  to-night,  its 
new  fifty,  with  over  two  hundred  active  members,  and  per- 
form— how  much  more !  The  answer  is  given  in  our  text, 
"He  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we 
ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us." 
The  problem  is  indeed  on  the  outer  side  a  very  different 
one  from  what  it  was.  The  population  is  vaster,  is  more 
difficult  to  reach,  is  less  sensitive  to  the  kind  of  service 
which  this  Church  has  hitherto  rendered.  But  the  Church 
is  stronger  than  then  to  start  on  a  new  history,  and  the 
"power  that  worketh  in  us"  is  the  very  presence  and  energy 
of  Christ  Jesus  and  His  Spirit,  and  the  field  consists  of 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  49 

human  hearts  as  needy  and    as  responsive  as  ever  they 
have  been. 

The  three  qualities  which  are  needed  are  adaptation, 
self-sacrifice,  and  confidence  in  the  Divine  power.  Give 
me  those  three  in  the  hearts  of  any  people  and  they  can  do 
absolutely  anything  with  the  population  that  surrounds 
them.  Adaptation  is  needed — adaptation  of  public  ser- 
vice on  Sunday,  adaptation  of  pastoral  and  teaching  min- 
istry through  the  week,  adaptation  of  the  relations  of  the 
Church  to  the  changed  social  conditions  of  these  streets 
that  surround  us.  Self-sacrifice  is  needed — not  merely  in 
gifts  of  money,  but  in  personal  devotion,  in  continuous 
prayer,  in  humble  and  earnest  determination  to  take  some 
share  in  bringing  the  gospel  to  the  hearts  of  this  communi- 
ty. Confidence  is  needed,  sublime  confidence  that  this 
grand  Church  has  its  grand  work  to  do,  that  the  next  fifty 
years  will  see  more  conversions,  more  hearts  comforted, 
more  lives  made  in  every  sense  divine  than  the  past 
fifty  years.  It  is  strange  how  much  is  done  by  confidence. 
In  the  world  this  is  largely  true  and  in  the  Church  it  is 
truest  of  all.  For  in  the  world's  life  confidence  may  mean 
merely  the  added  alertness  of  observation,  clearness  of 
judgment,  quickness  of  decision,  which  the  self-confident 
man  is  apt  to  exercise.  In  the  Church  it  means  that,  and 
as  much  more  as  God's  blessing  is  more  than  man's  en- 
dowment. For  here  confidence  in  our  work  is  confidence 
in  God,  in  His  love  toward  us,  and  in  His  blessing  upon  our 
work.  As  Dr.  Dale  once  said :  '  'Wp  never  learn  how  dear 
we  are  to  God's  heart  until  we  discover  that  He  has  trusted 
us  with  the  work  about  which  He  cares  the  most,  and  only 
in  this  service  is  it  possible  for  us  actually  to  realize  the  truth 
which  seems  to  lie  so  far  above  us,  and  yet  is  so  near,  that  we 
are  one  with  Christ  and  heirs  with  Christ  of  the  eternal 


50  New  England  Church 

glory.  It  is  all  of  a  piece ;  refuse  to  recognize  and  acknowl- 
edge, refuse  to  discharge  the  great  obligations  of  the  Chris- 
tian life,  and  its  prerogatives  will  appear  incredible.  The 
duties  and  the  glories  go  together.  It  is  because  we  have 
received  the  life  of  God  that  we  are  able  to  bring  the  world 
home  to  God,  and  we  shall  never  quite  believe  or  half  be- 
lieve in  the  greatness  that  has  come  to  us,  until  in  actual 
effort  and  endeavor  we  fulfill  the  duties  associated  with 
that  greatness." 

'  'The  duties  and  the  glories  go  together."  Can  we  do 
aught  more  worthy,  more  fitting,  more  powerful,  than  pray 
to-night  that  for  ourselves  and  our  successors,  in  adapta- 
tion, in  self-sacrifice,  in  the  holy  confidence  of  God,  this 
great  unity  of  privilege  and  opportunity,  of  adoration  and 
service,  may  become  a  lasting  experience  ?  For  God  is 
able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all  that  we  ask  or 
think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us.  To 
him  let  all  glory  be  given  in  the  Church  and  in  Christ 
Jesus  unto  all  generations  for  ever  and  ever.     Amen ! 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  NEW  ENGLAND  CHURCH 

PAPER  PRESENTED  BY  REV.  SIMEON  GILBERT,  D.  D. 
On  Monday  Evening,  June  14,  1903 

The  Spirit — whoever  saw  a  spirit  ?  And  yet,  whoever 
lives  a  day  that  he  does  not  feel,  in  some  way  or  another, 
the  presence,  the  contact,  the  intensive  impress  and  force 
of  some  spirit  ?  The  spirit  of  the  home ;  the  spirit  of  the 
school ;  the  spirit  of  the  church— is  not  this  the  prime  thing, 
almost  the  supreme  thing,  after  all? 

How  the  spirit  of  the  body  comes  to  be,  and  to  be  such 
as  it  is,  is  often  a  deep  mystery,  a  very  sacred  mystery. 
The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth;  men  hear  the  sound 
thereof,  but  cannot  tell  whence,  or  whither.  The  fruit  has 
its  own  flavor;  the  flower  its  own  fragrance;  and  each 
church  has  its  own  characteristic  spirit,  which,  if  we  may 
use  a  bit  of  Latin,  is  its  "vis  vivanda  vitae" — the  very  life 
of  its  life. 

Of  course,  every  true  Church  has,  in  its  own  degree  and 
way,  the  spirit  of  Christ.  That  is  the  vital  starting-point. 
This  begins  at  its  birth.  Then  it  begins  to  grow.  Hence- 
forth, as  at  the  first  creation,  it  has  seed  within  itself.  This 
growth  is  a  composite  result.  As  each  member  helps  to 
make  it  what  it  is,  so  every  member  has  a  share  in  its  re- 
sponsibility. 

At  any  rate,  it  may  be  said  of  this  New  England  Church, 
it  was  well  born.  Doubtless  its  name  had  something  to 
do  with  this.  The  fact  that  it  had  that  name  given  it 
meant  something  to  the  original  members.  It  was  indeed 
a  tribute  to  the  ''Spirit  of  the  Pilgrims."  Though  born 
51 


52  New  England  Church 

in  Chicago,  it  had  a  distinctly  New  England  genesis.  In  a 
way,  it  was  a  fine  sort  of  reincarnation.  The  new  Church 
consciously  took  on  the  best  ideals  of  the  New  England 
spirit.  And  this  was  as  true  of  its  early  members  as  of  its 
first  pastors,  Drs.  Holbrook  and  Bartlett. 

But  all  this  was  so  in  no  servile  way.  A  church,  started 
in  the  heart  of  such  a  city  as  Chicago,  could  not  help  but 
share  deeply,  however  unconsciously,  in  at  once  the  spirit 
of  the  place  and  the  spirit  of  the  time.  No  need  here  to 
stop  to  explain  what  that  meant  in  that  case;  but,  as  we  all 
know,  there  was  a  tremendous  deal  of  meaning  and  of  po- 
tentiality in  that  Chicago  spirit,  when  Chicago  itself  was 
in  the  throes  of  its  own  civic  birth  and  genetic  character. 

No  doubt  there  is  nothing  good  in  anything  that  really 
lives  without  good  seed,  and  yet,  quite  next  in  importance 
is  the  soil.  In  case  of  this  New  England  Church  the  spirit 
of  it  came  into  embodiment  in  a  soil  that  was  peculiarly 
vivific  and  dynamic.  And  this  was  at  a  point  where  the 
forces  of  the  mighty  West  were  being  focalized  in  such  a 
way  that  it  were  a  stolid  church  that  could  escape  cherish- 
ing the  open  outlook,  and  having  some  passion  for  doing 
things,  more  especially  for  doing  some  new  and  original 
things.  Naturally,  this  feeling  came  to  pervade  this 
Church  that  it  was  of  its  destiny  to  be,  in  the  best  sense  of 
the  term,  an  opportunist,  watching  for  the  next  opening, 
doing  the  next  things,  and  that  in  the  time  of  it. 

It  was  a  most  characteristic  saying  of  the  late  Colonel 
C.  G.  Hammond,  that  in  Chicago  there  is  an  everlasting 
emergency,  a  perpetual  crisis.  Accordingly,  whatever  may 
or  may  not  be  true  of  it  at  the  present  moment,  in  years 
gone  by  the  characteristic  spirit  of  this  New  England 
Church  did  have  about  it  a  note  of  sagacity,  of  out-reach, 
of  enterprise,  of  reverence  for  the  clear  leadings  of  Prov- 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  53 

idence,  and  with  this,  some  sense  of  victory  and  divine 
success. 

The  beginnings  of  Mr.  Moody's  marvelously  origina- 
tive and  aggressive  career  belonged  to  this  part  of  the  city, 
and  had  the  earnest  sympathy  and  support  of  this  Church, 
of  which,  for  a  while,  he  was  a  member.  While  he  was 
coralling,  getting  teachers  for,  subduing,  winning  those 
throngs  of  street  arabs  somewhat  nearer  the  river,  this 
Church,  besides  building  up  its  own  Sunday  school,  was 
starting  and  maintaining  numbers  of  other  Sunday  schools 
that  have  since  grown  into  churches — some  of  these,  as  the 
Lincoln  Park  Church,  into  kindred  fruitfulness  and  power. 

Another  thing  about  the  spirit  of  this  Church  is,  that  it 
has  believed  that  God  is  to  be  ''loved  with  all  the  mind," 
as  well  as  with  all  the  heart.  Hence  it  has  cherished  a 
reverence  for  truth,  has  honored  intelligence,  has  appre- 
ciated intellectual  culture.  It  has  fostered  a  sane  and 
wholesome  temper.  It  has,  from  first  to  last,  been  favored 
with  a  highly  intellectual  pastorate.  As  was  natural,  a 
remarkably  large  proportion  of  the  children  of  the  Church 
have  been  given  the  highest  advantages  for  education. 
They  have  most  of  them,  boys  and  girls  alike,  found  their 
way  to  college  as  a  matter  of  course. 

And,  moreover,  in  this  connection  it  is  of  interest  to  note 
that  the  Church  has,  to  an  exceptional  degree,  as  I  think, 
kept  a  watchful  and  good  eye  out  upon  the  children  of  the 
Church,  scarcely  a  single  one  of  whom  has  been  left  to  go 
to  the  bad.  When  its  sons  or  daughters  have  gone  forth 
to  college  or  other  schools,  or  other  places  of  residence, 
they  have  been  keenly  remembered;  remembered  with  a 
common  family  pride,  a  common  family  solicitude,  and 
an  all-environing  family  hope.  Nor  has  hardly  anything 
here  been  finer,  or  really  more  potential,  than  this  spirit 


54  New  England  Church 

of  hope  and  good  expectation,  which  has  ever  and  every- 
where followed  the  children  of  the  New  England  Church. 
Nor  could  any  boy  or  girl  well  avoid  the  inspiring  con- 
sciousness of  this  over-brooding  spirit  of  loving  solicitude. 

Right  here,  however,  it  may  as  well  perhaps  be  ad- 
mitted, that  this  sense  of  the  membership  of  the  Church 
as  a  close-knit  family,  that  has  indeed  been  in  so  many 
ways  fostered  and  intensified,  has,  at  times,  seemed  to  be 
rather  too  satisfied  with  the  sufficiency  of  that,  and  not 
quite  alert  enough  to  see  how  all  this  might  seem  to  those 
just  outside  its  own  peculiar  circle,  or  to  those  more  newly 
come  into  its  sphere  of  relationship.  Nevertheless,  it  re- 
mains true  that  this  Church  has  cherished  a  distinctly 
broad-gauged  way  of  looking  on  its  relations  and  respon- 
sibility to  interests  beyond  itself — to  the  city  as  a  whole; 
to  what  is  commonly  known  as  the  Great  West ;  to  that  vast 
region  known  as  the  New  West;  to  the  country  in  its  to- 
tality; to  the  entire  missionary  undertaking,  home  and 
foreign.  In  this  respect  this  Church  has  had,  in  somewhat 
eminent  degree,  what  may  be  called  the  cosmic  quality 
of  mind  as  related  to  human  kinship  and  Christian 
obligation  all  round  the  world. 

Were  there  great  public  works  for  the  city  to  be  de- 
vised and  constructed,  as  for  instance  its  original  water 
supply,  here  were  found  men  of  genius  equal  to  the  task, 
with  personal  character  utterly  trustworthy.  Were  rail- 
ways of  continental  scope  to  be  projected  and  managed, 
here  were  men  competent  for  the  highest  duties  of  this  sort. 
Were  there  Christian  colleges  springing  up  on  all  sides, 
again  and  again  making  rightful  appeals  for  generous  help- 
ing in  just  the  nick  of  critical  exigency,  when  timely  giving 
might  prove  to  be  of  vital  and  of  endless  consequence,  here 
were  found  men  and  women  quick  to  respond.     Was  a 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  55 

theological  seminary,  conceived  on  the  broadest  lines  of 
adaptation  to  varied  and  immeasurable  needs,  such  as 
from  the  first,  and  year  after  year,  would  demand  a  clear- 
seeing  and  puissant  kind  of  helpful  befriending,  here  were 
those  who  waited  for  no  urging,  and  who  never  grew  weary 
in  their  helping.  Was  there  another  great  educational 
institution,  as  a  free  public  library  for  all  the  city,  to  be 
organized  and  estabhshed  in  its  vast  perennial  beneficence, 
here  were  men  conspicuously  fit  to  have  such  a  work  in- 
trusted to  them.  Was  the  nation  plunged  into  the  life- 
and-death  throes  of  a  supreme  struggle,  that  between 
Freedom  and  Slavery,  with  vast  armies  not  only  to  be 
raised,  but  to  be  Christianly  cared  for;  did  a  terrific  confla- 
gration consume  the  city,  creating  sudden  emergencies  of 
unspeakable  moment;  did  the  time  come  when  a  great 
new  missionary  organization  must  be  formed,  not  only  to 
meet  the  educational  and  religious  necessities  of  the  so- 
called  New  West,  but  to  tide  the  public  sentiment  of  the 
nation  itself  over  a  particularly  acute  crisis  in  its  history; 
was  a  new  home  missionary  society  to  be  formed  for  our 
own  state;  was  a  new  city  missionary  society  to  be  origin- 
ated and  given  strong  send-off,  and  to  be  sustained  in  a 
way  suitable  to  such  a  fast-expanding  city  as  this;  was  still 
another  peculiar  agency  seen  to  be  a  necessity  in  order  to 
reach,  with  vital  helpfulness,  large  portions  in  our  city  of 
foreign  birth  and  speech ;  were  these,  and  other  such  like 
undertakings,  in  the  swiftly  unfolding  providence  of  God, 
waiting  for  the  churches  and  other  Christian  organizations 
to  rise  up  and  boldly  take  their  part — this  New  England 
Church,  it  is  but  sober  history  to  say,  has,  during  these  fifty 
eventful  years,  had  the  men  and  the  women — the  women 
not  less  than  the  men — closely  banded  together,  nurtured 
and  cultivated  into  practicality  and  power,   who  strove, 


56  New  England  Church 

humbly,  boldly  and  not  in  vain,  to  meet  the  thronging 
emergencies  of  their  time,  evincing  a  spirit  that  is  to-day 
worthy  of  loving  and  inspiring  commemoration. 

But  the  end  is  not  yet.  We,  ourselves,  are  stUl  in  the 
midst  of  it.  This  high  Jubilee  of  ours,  in  which  these 
neighbors  and  some  from  across  the  sea,  as  Dr.  Munro 
Gibson  of  London,  have  so  kindly  come  in  from  all  sides 
to  evince  their  sympathy  and  share  with  us  in  it,  this  sacred 
Memorial  Jubilee  was  not,  I  take  it,  meant  to  be  like 
"words  that  untie  on  the  lips  and  disband  in  the  air," 
much  less  to  be  an  occasion  for  shifting  off  our  own  re- 
sponsibilities by  garnishing  the  sepulchres  of  the  prophets. 

As  wise  men  and  women  who  do  not  need  to  be  remind- 
ed that  there  is  not  any  mill  that  can  grind  with  water  that 
is  past,  mindful  of  the  infinite  significance  and  portents  of 
the  time,  and  the  conditions  in  the  midst  of  which  we,  our- 
selves, are  placed,  should  not  this  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of 
our  Church  seem  to  be  a  fateful  day — as  it  were,  a  kind  of 
anticipatory  "section  of  the  day  of  judgment"  ? 

Whether,  as  for  the  days  now  immediately  before  us 
and  the  years  that  are  to  come,  the  still  ruling  spirit  of  the 
New  England  Church  is  such  as  will  consummately  fit  it 
for  the  changed  conditions  and  the  new  times — is  not 
this,  after  all,  the  supremely  pertinent  question  ? 

And  yet,  is  it  not  true,  too,  that  these  divinely  gracious 
memories  of  the  past  may  be  the  ever-living  well-springs 
of  hope,  of  courage,  of  all  grateful  and  high  hearted  devo- 
tion? 

And  let  all  the  people  say  Amen  and  Amen ! 


LETTER  FROM  REV.  LEANDER  T.  CHAMBER- 
LAIN, D.  D. 

PASTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  FROM  1869  TO  1877 

West  Brookfield,  Mass.,  June  28,  1903. 
To  the  New  England  Church,  on  its  Fiftieth  Anniversary. 

My  Dear  Friends:  As  it  is  never  unseasonable  to  send 
congratulations  and  best  wishes,  I  venture  to  forward 
now  the  message  which  would  have  been  sent  before, 
had  the  notification  reached  me  in  time.  Indeed,  had  it 
been  possible,  I  should  have  enjoyed  being  with  you  in 
person,  not  only  to  meet  you,  but  also  to  revive  the 
precious  memories  of  those  who  have  passed  away.  Be- 
yond question,  the  New  England  Church  has  had  a  half- 
century  of  very  great  usefulness  and  honor. 

Moreover,  as  in  the  vast  majority  of  instances  in  which 
an  unusually  strong  and  beneficent  church  influence  has 
been  exerted,  the  secret  is  to  be  sought  for  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  Church's  own  membership.  To  the  New 
England  Church,  in  its  primitive  times,  were  given  singu- 
larly able  and  devoted  pastors.  Dr.  Bartlett  and  Dr. 
Gulliver  were  men  of  rare  ability  and  devotion.  Besides 
their  eminence  in  the  pastorate  and  the  pulpit,  they  were 
foremost  in  other  important  directions;  and  what  they 
thus  attained  reflected  honor  upon  the  Church  to  which 
they  ministered. 

Yet  the  Church's  central  permanent  power  was  not  in 
them.  It  was,  rather,  in  the  make-up  of  the  Church  itself. 
The  untitled,  unofficial  membership  included  men  and 
women  whose  character  and  culture,  whose  ability  and 

57 


58  New  England  Church 

consecration,  gave  to  the  Church  an  early  influence  and 
leadership  such  as  rarely  belongs  to  a  Church's  opening 
years. 

I  have  seldom,  if  ever,  known  a  church  which  had,  at 
any  period  of  its  history,  such  a  group  of  men — to  mention 
only  those  who  have  gone  to  their  rest  and  their  reward — 
as  that  of  which  Colonel  Hammond  and  Mr.  Chesbrough 
and  Mr.  Bradley  were  members.  No  one  who  knew  those 
men  and  their  associates  could  long  w^onder  that  the  New 
England  Church  exercised  a  strong  and  helpful  influence 
not  only  in  the  community  and  the  city,  but  also  in  the 
state  and  the  nation. 

Nor  was  the  noble  power  confined  to  that  distinguished 
circle.  Throughout  the  membership  there  was  an  un- 
derstanding and  sympathy,  a  generous  capability  of  self- 
denial,  a  genius  for  working  together,  such  as  might  well 
suffice  to  make  any  church,  with  God's  blessing,  a  power 
for  good.  I  wish  I  might  have  joined  in  the  commemora- 
tion of  such  an  early  history ! 

I  confess  that  the  longer  I  live,  the  more  I  wonder  that 
the  New  England  Church,  thus  made  up,  and  before  it  had 
arrived  at  the  half-way  goal  of  its  first  semi-centennial, 
invited  me  to  become  its  pastor.  As  if  it  were  yesterday, 
I  recall  the  inclement  Sunday  on  which  I  first  spoke  in  your 
pulpit — the  storm  of  the  evening  almost  necessitating  the 
retiring  from  the  main  audience-room  to  the  prayer-room 
of  the  chapel.  And  never  shall  I  forget  the  astonishment 
with  which,  while  my  graduation  from  the  Theological 
Seminary  was  still  a  full  term  away,  I  received  your  in- 
vitation !  I  think  that  scarce  anything  but  Colonel  Ham- 
mond's gentle,  and  commanding,  and  personal,  persuasion, 
could  have  made  me  believe  that  the  acceptance  of  such  a 
call  was  the  will  of  God.     And  certainly  only  the  patient, 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  59 

loyal,  rigorous  support  of  the  strong  group  to  which  I  have 
referred,  as  well  as  of  the  noble  membership  at  large  of 
which  I  have  made  grateful  mention,  could  have  enabled 
me,  with  the  divine  blessing,  to  sustain  my  cares  and  to  do 
my  work. 

Very  tenderly  do  I  remember  the  special  manifestations 
of  God's  gracious  presence — the  spiritual  awakenings 
among  the  followers  of  Christ,  and  the  turning  to  the  Mas- 
ter of  those  of  our  members  who  had  been  comparatively 
indifferent  to  His  claims.  With  many  others,  I  was  im- 
measurably benefited  by  the  signal  and  wide-spread  re- 
vival which  accompanied  the  labors  of  Mr.  Moody. 

Altogether,  the  years  which  I  spent  with  the  New  Eng- 
land Church  are  to  me  memorable  and  precious — including 
as  they  did,  the  "Great  Fire,"  and  the  still  greater  restora- 
tion. I  need  not  recount  these  scenes,  scenes  in  which 
human  nature  showed  the  heights  of  generous  courage, 
and  the  depths  of  tender  compassion.  I  ceaselessly  thank 
God  for  the  part  which  He  permitted  me  to  have  in  those 
trying  times;  nor  shall  I  ever  fail  to  thank  Him  for  per- 
mitting me  to  see  the  glories  of  the  burned  temple  more 
than  equaled  by  the  later  structure,  and  the  prosperity  of 
the  Church  itself  completely  re-established. 

Pardon  the  length  at  which  I  have  written ;  yet  I  have 
expressed  less  than  a  tithe  of  what  is  in  my  mind  and  heart. 

Praying  that  goodness  and  mercy  may  follow  all  of  you 
in  all  things,  and  that  the  future  years  may  be  more  blessed, 
both  temporally  and  spiritually,  than  even  the  best  years 
of  the  past,  I  remain,  as  ever. 

Yours  faithfully, 

Leander  T.  Chamberlain. 


LETTER  FROM   REV.  ARTHUR  LITTLE,  D.  D. 

PASTOR  OF  THE  CHURCH  FROM   1878  TO  1888 

Dorchester,  Mass.,  June  12,  1903. 
To  the  Pastors  and  Members  of  the  New  England  Church 

and  Congregation. 

My  Dear  Friends:  The  year  of  jubilee  is  come.  How 
I  wish  I  could  be  present  and  join  with  you  in  "blowing 
the  trumpet,"  and  in  any  other  observances  appropriate 
to  the  notable  occasion! 

I  do  not  need  to  tell  you  that  I  still  have  an  affectionate 
interest  in  the  church  with  which,  during  more  than  one- 
fifth  of  its  entire  history,  I  was  actively  identified  as  pastor. 
What  a  rush  of  memories  crowds  in  upon  my  mind  as  I 
begin  to  write,  but  I  must  refuse  to  yield  to  the  fascinating 
spell  lest  I  weary  your  patience.  While  I  cannot  recall 
my  part  in  the  work  of  these  years  with  much  satisfaction, 
I  do  think  of  yours  with  much  pleasure. 

'  T  was  with  you  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in  much 
trembling."  How  exactly  those  words  describe  the  earlier 
years  of  my  ministry  among  you  you  may  never  know. 
Wliatever  may  have  been  true  since,  during  the  first 
twenty-five  years  of  its  history,  the  New  England  Church 
was  distinguished  for  its  able  ministry. 

This  fact  came  home  to  me  with  great  distinctness 
when  I  was  preparing  a  sermon  in  connection  with  the 
twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  Church,  during  the  first 
year  of  my  pastorate.  I  had  occasion  to  study  the  men 
and  estimate  their  character  and  work.  For  me  to  main- 
tain the  same  high  level  of  ministerial  influence  and  power 
60 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  6i 

seemed  impossible.  The  thought,  though  a  fine  incentive, 
depressed  me.  I  felt  sure  that  you,  who  knew  a  good  thing 
when  you  saw  it  and  had  been  accustomed  to  a  good  thing, 
would  soon  find  me  out.  And  so  you  did,  but  your  Chris- 
tian courtesy,  forbearance,  kindness,  and  co-operation 
soon  allayed  my  fears  and  gave  me  increasing  confidence. 

This  glimpse  into  my  subjective  state  at  that  time  will 
be  quite  enough. 

In  reviewing  the  history  and  work  of  the  New  England 
Church  from  the  beginning  until  now,  a  most  important 
fact  to  keep  in  mind  is  that  its  influence  at  home  and 
abroad  has  been  all  out  of  proportion  to  its  numbers.  It 
must  be  weighed  and  not  counted.  It  has  been  a  center 
with  a  large  circumference.  It  has  shown  considerable 
power  of  initiative.  Its  force  has  been  dynamic,  pene- 
trative, out-reaching,  invisible.  Its  ideals  have  been  so 
far  in  advance  of  its  actual  and  visible  achievements,  that, 
instead  of  much  satisfaction  in  things  done,  it  has  been 
steadily  under  the  constraining  influence  of  a  noble  dis- 
content. Without  some  personal  reminiscences,  this  letter 
would  have  no  value.  In  looking  over  a  diary,  kept  during 
the  first  five  years  of  my  pastorate  in  this  Church,  some- 
what to  my  surprise,  I  find  frequent  entries  like  these: '  'full 
attendance"  on  Sunday  morning;  "good  attendance," 
"fair  attendance"  Sunday  evening;  "excellent  prayer- 
meeting";  ''delightful  sociable";  and  no  end  of  committee 
meetings,  receptions,  charming  dinners,  and  teas,  and  social 
hours  in  many  of  the  homes.  I  find  also  many  pleasant 
references  to  my  "boys'  meetings,"  "morning  bible  class," 
"children's  meetings"  and  agencies  of  that  kind.  It  has 
also  been  agreeable  to  note  that  at  most  of  the  communion 
seasons  there  were  some  additions  to  the  church.  The 
number  of  engagements  outside  of  the  Church  is  something 


62  New  England  Church 

appalling,  that  easy  infirmity  of  the  ministerial  mind.  It 
was  while  I  was  with  you  that  extensive  improvements 
were  made  on  the  edifice,  in  the  remodeling  of  the  en- 
trance to  the  chapel  and  stairway  to  the  Sunday  school 
room,  and  also  in  putting  galleries  into  the  audience-room. 

In  large  part,  through  the  liberality  of  Colonel  Ham- 
mond, the  Sedgwick  Street  Chapel  was  built,  a  Sunday 
school  maintained,  and  a  branch  church  organized  while 
I  was  pastor.  During  this  period,  the  Lincoln  Park 
Congregational  Church  was  finished  and  dedicated,  the 
work  being  hastened  by  a  gift  from  the  same  source.  In 
the  organization  of  the  New  West  Education  Commission, 
the  Illinois  Home  Missionary  Society  and  the  Chicago 
Missionary  Society,  the  New  England  Church  bore  a 
most  influential  and  decisive  part,  during  these  same  years. 

Well  do  I  remember  these  enterprises,  created  for  the 
extension  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom  on  earth,  in  their 
incipiency,  and  the  thought,  strength,  time,  wisdom, 
prayer  and  money  put  into  them  by  strong  men  in  the 
New  England  Church.  Add  to  this  the  time,  thought, 
strength,  money  and  personal  service — much  of  it  official- 
given  to  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary  and  the  Ameri- 
can Board  by  the  men  and  women  of  this  Church  and  the 
record  becomes  monumental.  It  admits  of  no  com- 
putation in  the  arithmetic  of  earth.  The  record  is  on 
high. 

I  may  further  say  that  the  Church  may  take  an  honest 
pride  in  the  number  of  young  men  and  women  who  have 
graduated  from  the  colleges  and  higher  institutions  of 
learning  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Many  such  do 
I  now  recall. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning  the  names  of  some 
very  eminent  and   eloquent   ministers  of  the  gospel  who 


Fiftieth  Anniversary 


occasionally  preached  in  the  pulpit  of  the  New  England 
Church  while  I  was  there.  Dr.  Post,  who  preached  the 
sermon  at  my  installation  and  on  two  or  three  other 
occasions;  Dr.  Sturtevant,  Dr.  George  L.  Walker,  Dr. 
Patton,  Dr.  Goodwin,  Dr.  Fisk,  Dr.  Boardman,  Dr. 
Goddell,  Dr.  Herrick  Johnson,  Dr.  H.  M.  Scudder,  Dr. 
R.  S.  Storrs — what  a  privilege  and  distinction  even  to 
have  known,  heard,  and  labored  with  such  men !  Men 
devoted  to  "plain  living  and  high  thinking." 

But  much  more  did  I  value  and  I  do  now  tenderly 
and  gratefully  remember  the  closer,  more  personal,  and 
familiar  association,  in  our  daily  work,  with  a  large 
number  of  men  and  women  in  the  Church,  among  whom, 
inasmuch  as  they  have  now  joined  the  nobler  fellowship 
of  the  glorified  in  heaven,  I  may  venture  to  mention  the 
names  of  Chesbrough,  Hammond,  Bradley,  Richardson, 
Coe,  Gates,  Herbert,  Mrs.  Chesbrough,  Mrs.  Hjorstberg, 
Mrs.  Bradley,  Mrs.  Montgomery,  Mrs.  N.  H.  Blatchford, 
and  Mrs.  William  Dickinson — a  company  of  choice 
spirits,  to  be  associated  with  whom  in  Christian  work 
was  as  rare  a  privilege  as  ever  fell  to  the  lot  of  any  pastor 
in  the  world. 

I  must  take  the  liberty  of  mentioning  the  name  of  one 
other  man  who,  though  he  is  still  living,  cannot  be  hurt 
by  praise — the  model  minister,  the  model  parishioner,  the 
model  Christian  man — everybody's  helper  and  friend — 
Dr.  Savage.     Late  may  he  return  to  the  skies. 

I  know  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  venture  to  lift  the  veil 
for  a  moment  to  refer  to  an  incident  which  meant  vastly 
more  to  me  than  it  possibly  could  to  you — the  one  great 
sorrow  of  my  life — about  the  middle  of  my  pastorate 
among  you,  in  connection  with  which  the  New  England 
Church  showed  its  loving  heart.     You  can  never  know  how 


64  New  England  Church 

far  your  sympathy,  your  kindness,  and  your  generous 
support  shown  in  many  ways  went  in  helping  me  to  bear 
the  sudden  and  overwhelming  shock.  Till  then  I  never 
knew  the  value  of  Christian  sympathy  as  you  showed  it, 
nor  can  I  ever  requite  you  for  it. 

If  my  ministry  began  with  somewhat  of  misgiving,  it 
continued  with  growing  confidence,  and  ended  with 
assurances  of  esteem  and  affection  which  made  it  most 
difficult  for  me  to  go  elsewhere.  Eleven  happy  years — 
most  agreeable  to  remember. 

Although  it  is  now  more  than  fourteen  years  since  we 
parted,  I  have  kept  myself  well  informed  touching  the 
work  of  the  Church  and  the  welfare  of  its  families. 

I  am  sure,  if  my  daughter,  Mrs.  Thompson,  were 
here  at  this  moment,  she  would  beg  to  join  me  in  loving 
and  remembering  Christian  salutations  to  all  whom  we 
knew,  for  it  was  in  this  Church  that  she  first  confessed 
Christ. 

I  am  sure  you  will  round  out  the  half-century  of  Church 
life  to-night  with  profound  thankfulness  to  God  for  all 
the  way  of  goodness  and  loving  kindness  along  which  He 
has  led  you  in  the  past,  and  with  renewed  hopefulness 
and  confidence  in  His  guidance  for  the  future. 

"The  Lord  bless  thee  and  keep  thee;  The  Lord  make  His  face 
shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee;  The  Lord  lift  up  His 
countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace." 

Affectionately  yours, 

Arthur  Little. 


LETTER  FROM  REV.  JAMES  GIBSON  JOHN- 
SON, D.  D. 

PASTOR   OF  THE  CHURCH  FROM   1891  TO  1897 

To  the  New  England  Church. 

My  Dear  Friends: — Dr.  Mackenzie  has  asked  me  for 
a  ''message"  on  the  occasion  of  your  fiftieth  anniversary. 
It  surely  is  a  message  of  congratulation  and  good  wishes. 
My  six  years  of  hearty  work  as  your  pastor  has  left  with 
me  precious  memories  and  a  clear  faith  that  your  work 
is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  I  am  sure  that  the  unseen 
effects  of  any  Church  life  are  greater  than  those  that  are 
recognized  and  recorded.  We  all  feel  the  defect  of 
human  effort,  even  the  best.  But  the  Head  of  the  Church 
has  chosen  to  act  largely  through  human  agencies,  and 
the  long  story  of  the  Church  of  Christ  on  earth  as  well  as 
this  half -century  of  your  Church's  life,  makes  very  plain 
the  divine  efficiency  that  is  thus  brought  to  bear  on  the 
heart  and  lives  of  men.  I  love  to  think  of  the  many — 
especially  of  the  young  men,  now  widely  scattered — 
who  came  into  the  Christian  life  during  my  stay  with 
you. 

The  New  England  Church  has  lived  through  many 
crises — notably  the  great  fire  that  consumed  its  house  of 
worship,  but  which  only  added  ardor  to  the  loyalty  of  its 
members.  Changes  that  are  dreaded  and  regretted  often 
are  the  way  to  new  energy  and  greater  blessing,  for  the 
Master  is  faithful  to  his  servants  whom  he  calls 
friends. 

May  the  future  of  the  dear  old  New  England  Church 
65 


66  New  England  Church 

be  full  of  blessing  to  the  loyal  people  who  remain,  and  to 
the  many  who  are  yet  to  be  reached  by  its  noble  and 
earnest  activities. 

Such  is  the  sincere  prayer  of  your  loving  friend  and 
former  pastor. 

James  Gibson  Johnson. 

Farmington,  Conn.,  June  8,  1903. 


LETTER  FROM  REV.  HORACE  LESLIE  STRAIN 

ASSISTANT  PASTOR  OF   THE  CHURCH  FROM  189S  TO  1900 

First  Congregational  Church, 
Decatur,  111.,  June  13, 1903. 

This  note  is  to  acknowledge  to  the  committee  the 
receipt  of  the  invitation  to  the  celebration  of  New  Eng- 
land Church's  fiftieth  birthday. 

As  I  cannot  be  present  to  express  in  person  my  con- 
gratulations and  best  wishes  I  send  them  thus  to  you. 
Surely  the  Church  has  a  past  to  be  proud  of,  and  names 
of  great  and  good  men  and  women  to  recall  with  grati- 
tude and  joyful  satisfaction !  May  the  memories  of  the 
years  give  you  all  their  truest  and  best  blessings  as  you 
recount  them ! 

But  may  I  also  wish  that  the  heritage  of  the  past,  rich 
and  glorious  as  it  is,  may  inspire  a  worthy  vision  of  the 
future,  until  entering  into  its  fulfillment,  New  England 
Church  may  possess  a  life  and  usefulness  of  which  these 
years  are  but  the  beginning.  This  is  the  prayer  of  one 
who  tried  to  serve  and  loves. 

Faithfully, 

Horace  L.  Strain. 


67 


APPENDIX  A 

Rev.  Professor  Samuel  C.  Bartlett  addressed  the  audience  gathered, 
remarking  that  they  were  there  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  New 
England  Church  edifice,  or  as  the  fathers  would  say,  of  the  "  meeting- 
house," for  they  were  ever  careful  to  distinguish  the  material  from 
the  spiritual  building.  The  foundation  of  the  church  proper  was 
laid  more  than  ten  years  ago,  when  a  few  brethren  entered  into 
covenant  to  maintain  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel.  The  name, 
"New  England  Church,"  which  they  assumed,  was  suggestive: 

1.  Of  their  origin.  Of  the  twenty-one  brothers  and  sisters,  the 
first  members,  all  were  of  New  England  origin  and  nearly  all  of  New 
England  nativity.  Subsequent  additions  were  most  of  them  from 
the  same  origin.  When  he  became  pastor  in  1857,  he  found  mem- 
bers from  Portland,  Boston,  Hartford,  Worcester,  and  Providence, 
and  now  that  the  original  twenty  had  grown  to  two  hundred,  as  he 
looked  around,  their  names  and  faces  were  almost  all  suggestive 
of  New  England. 

2.  The  name  New  England  was  also  suggestive  of  the  whole 
circle  of  influences  that  had  radiated  from  Plymouth  Rock.  This 
church  is  a  representative  of  that  formed  in  the  Mayflower  by  men 
who  gave  the  shortest  and  the  best  definition  of  democracy  ever 
uttered,  "  such  just  and  equal  laws,  etc.,  as  are  most  meet  and  conve- 
nient for  the  general  good."  They  landed  with  the  Bible  in  one  hand 
and  the  axe  in  the  other.  They  put  the  ballot  into  every  man's 
hand  and  in  due  time  the  bullet  also.  They  beUeved  in  a  law  of 
God,  supreme  above  all  human  enactments.  Their  Governor  (Brad- 
ford) was  wont  to  go  to  their  rude  church  building  with  Elder 
Brewster  on  one  side  of  him  and  Captain  Miles  Standish  on  the  other 
side.  From  such  men  have  gone  out  a  wide  and  mighty  circle  of  in- 
fluences radiating  west  in  a  broad  zone.  With  them  originated  the  free 
school  system,  the  foreign  missionary  societies  of  this  country,  the 
Home  Missionary  Society,  the  Education  Society,  Tract  Society,  and 
the  great  temperance  movement.     The  churches  of  their  faith  have 

68 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  69 

in  these  days  stood  in  the  forefront  of  the  great  struggle  for  equal 
rights.  New  England  has  been  so  conspicuous  in  our  history  that 
the  idea  of  leaving  her  out  was  as  absurd  as  for  the  moon  and  planets 
to  talk  of  leaving  out  the  sun. 

3.  The  name  was  also  suggestive  of  Christian  fellowship — a 
fellowship  as  unbroken  as  the  seamless  robe  of  Christ.  The  New 
England  churches  had  already  welcomed  the  godly  of  other  churches 
to  their  communion. 

4.  It  suggested  also  a  free  church  polity — which  claims  the  right 
of  self-government,  which  acknowledged  no  authority  above  it  on 
earth,  which  called  no  man  master,  which  taught  the  equality  of  its 
ministers,  and  assigned  them  the  place,  not  of  rulers,  but  of  leaders. 
While  it  allows  others  its  own  free  choice,  yet  it  claims  for  its  own 
church  the  high  prerogatives  of  self-government.  And  truly  it  would 
seem  that  if  regenerated  men  are  not  competent  to  govern  them- 
selves, nobody  is  competent  to  govern  them;  and  then  farewell  to 
the  whole  idea  of  self-government.  Yet  this  polity  acknowledged 
a  kind  of  discipline  among  its  circles  of  churches — one  of  advice 
and  persuasion  and  conciliation,  which  seeks  to  heal  divisions 
not  by  suppression  and  authority — which  does  not  imagine  that 
disorders  are  cured  when  the  heel  of  power  has  been  placed  upon 
them,  but  when  erring  brethren  have  been  lovingly  won  from  the 
wrong  course. 

5.  The  name  is  suggestive,  too,  of  a  system  of  doctrines.  The 
evangelical  system,  with  the  Bible  as  the  sole  authority;  the  Calvin- 
istic  system,  as  modified  by  New  England  divines  after  a  careful 
study  of  the  Scriptures;  these  doctrines  are  the  grand  secret  of  all 
that  New  England  has  ever  been  and  ever  done.  Therefore,  let  this 
building  go  up,  and  these  walls  echo  these  doctrines,  and  let  them  be 
perpetuated  to  the  end  of  time. 


APPENDIX  B 

Action  of  the  New  England  Congregational  Church  of  Chicago, 
in  relation  to  certain  memorial  stones,  procured  by  the  agency  and 
at  the  expense  of  E.  W.  Blatchford,  Esq.,  a  member  and  officer  of 
the  Church,  one  being  from  Scrooby  Manor  in  England,  the  residence 
of  Elder  Brewster  and  the  first  place  of  meeting  of  the  Church  which 
afterwards  assembled  under  Robinson  at  Leyden,  and  which  em- 
barked at  Delft  Haven  for  America — another  being  from  the  pave- 
ment of  the  church  in  Delft  Haven  near  the  place  of  their  embarkation, 
in  which  church  the  Rev.  M.  Cohen  Stuart,  of  Rotterdam ,  by  whose 
agency  the  stone  was  procured,  supposes  them  to  have  assembled 
for  the  last  time  before  leaving  Holland,  and  a  third  being  a  frag- 
ment of  the  rock  at  Plymouth  in  Massachusetts,  upon  which  they 
landed,  a  gift  from  the  trustees  of  the  Pilgrim  Monument  Association. 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  the  Church  are  hereby  given  to  our 
brother.  Deacon  E.  W.  Blatchford,  for  the  beautiful  conception  of 
placing  within  the  walls  of  the  New  England  Church  memorials  of 
the  three  chief  epochs  in  the  history  of  our  Pilgrim  Fathers,  and  for 
his  unwearied  efforts  in  procuring  the  same. 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  the  Church  are  due  to  Richard 
Monckton  Milnes,  Baron  Houghton,  the  proprietor  of  Scrooby 
Manor,  and  by  whom  the  stone  from  Scrooby  Manor  was  presented, 
and  to  C.  H.  Lowther,  Esq.,  for  his  generous  efforts  in  procuring  for  us 
this  valuable  and  well  attested  rehc  from  the  spot  made  sacred  by 
the  earliest  worship  and  organization  of  the  Pilgrim  Church. 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Church  are  likewise  due  to  the 
Rev.  M.  Cohen  Stuart,  of  Rotterdam,  and  to  the  consistory  of  the 
Church  in  Delft  Haven,  for  the  very  suggestive  slab  bearing  date, 
"1595"  taken  from  the  pavement  which  may  have  been  pressed  by 
the  feet  of  the  Pilgrims  in  the  agony  of  their  leave-taking  and  amid 
the  solemnities  of  then:  last  acts  of  united  worship. 

Resolved,  that  the  thanks  of  this  Church  are  also  due  to  T.  Gordon, 
Esq.,  of  Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  to  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
70 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  71 

Pilgrim  Monument  Association  for  the  portion  of  that  ever-memorable 
rock  which  received  the  pressure  of  the  first  anxious  yet  joyous  steps 
of  our  revered  fathers  upon  these  shores. 

Resolved,  that  the  building  committee  be  hereby  requested  to 
place  these  memorial  stones  in  appropriate  niches,  and  with  suitable 
inscription  in  the  walls  of  the  Church. 

Resolved,  that  Deacon  Blatchford  be  requested  to  select  a  stone 
from  the  material  now  being  used  in  the  erection  of  our  church 
edifice,  and  having  placed  a  suitable  inscription  upon  the  same,  to 
forward  it  to  the  consistory  of  the  Church  in  Delft  Haven,  to  take 
the  place  in  the  pavement  made  vacant  by  their  gift  to  us,  if  it  shall 
please  them  to  use  it. 

Resolved,  that  the  clerk  of  the  Church  be  requested  to  forward 
a  copy  of  this  action,  certified  by  the  signatures  of  the  pastor  and 
deacons  to  Baron  Haughton,  to  C.  H.  Lowther,  Esq.,  to  the  Rev. 
M.  Cohen  Stuart,  and  to  T.  Gordon,  Esq.,  with  the  request  that  it 
may  be  brought  to  the  notice  of  each  of  the  persons  herein  mentioned. 

(Signed)    Lyman  Baird, 

Clerk  pro  tern. 


APPENDIX  C 

A    GIFT    TO    THE    NEW   ENGLAND    CHURCH,    BY    HON. 
WILLIAM   H.   BRADLEY 

March  i,  1882 

It  was  a  cherished  and  often  expressed  wish  of  my  dear  daughter 
before  her  death  to  place  in  the  New  England  Church  a  baptismal 
font  in  memory  of  her  two  little  boys.  This  wish  her  husband  has 
been  taking  steps  to  fulfill. 

While  in  England  last  summer  I  chanced  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  Lady  Lowther,  the  wife  of  Sir  Charles  Lowther,  Bart.,  of 
Wilton  Castle,  Yorkshire.  A  son  of  Sir  Charles  and  Lady  Lowther, 
the  Right  Honorable  James  Lowther,  was  the  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland  under  the  administration  of  Lord  Beaconsfield,  having 
represented  the  old  city  of  York  in  ParUament  for  fifteen  years,  and 
has  been  recently  returned  to  Parliament  from  North  Lincolnshire. 
While  enjoying  their  hospitaUty  it  occurred  to  me  that  Rev.  Dr. 
Holbrook,  years  ago,  had  mentioned  this  lady  as  saying  to  him  that 
the  baptismal  font  in  the  old  church  at  Scrooby  had  been  displaced 
to  make  room  for  one  of  more  modern  size  and  form,  and  he  thought 
it  could  be  secured  for  the  New  England  Church.  It  struck  me 
that  if  this  should  still  be  possible,  this  old  font,  from  the  associations 
connected  with  it,  would  be  a  more  precious  memorial  gift  for  both 
mother  and  sons  than  any  new  one  could  be.  I  spoke  to  Lady 
Lowther  explaining  the  circumstances  and  expressing  the  wish,  if 
possible,  to  secure  the  font.  To  this  she  heartily  consented.  But 
to  make  the  matter  sure  and  regular  in  form,  she  first  consulted 
Lord  Houghton,  the  proprietor  of  the  estate,  and  also  the  warden  of 
the  church.  Just  before  leaving  England  I  received  a  very  kind  note 
from  Lady  Lowther,  informing  me  that  the  necessary  formalities 
had  been  concluded,  and  that  the  font  had  started  on  its  way.  It 
suffered  somewhat  from  the  roughness  of  the  voyage,  but  has  now 
been  restored,  fitted  with  a  new  base  and  cover,  and  placed  in  the 
New  England  Church,  this  city. 

72 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  73 

HISTORY  OF  THE  RELIC 

To  the  antiquarian,  the  chief  interest  of  the  font  will  be  found 
in  its  great  age  and  its  history.  These  can  only  be  traced  through 
its  connection  with  the  village,  manor  house,  and  church  of  Scrooby. 
In  those  earher  and  more  lawless  times,  when  Scrooby  had  its  first 
beginnings,  the  homes  of  the  barons  and  the  higher  dignitaries  of 
both  Church  and  State  were  built  for  defense  as  well  as  residence. 
Around  each  such  fortified  place  a  village  or  hamlet  soon  grew  up, 
consisting  of  the  homes  of  the  poorer  classes,  who  in  times  of  danger, 
fled  to  the  great  house  for  safety,  and  assisted  in  its  defense.  Such, 
in  all  probabiUty,  was  the  origin  of  the  Uttle  town  of  Scrooby.  It 
was  gathered  about  the  fortified  palace  of  one  of  the  first  archbishops 
of  York.  For  the  earliest  authentic  mention  of  the  place,  we  go 
back  to  the  days  of  William  the  Conqueror. 

On  Christmas  Day,  more  than  eight  hundred  years  ago,  in  A.  D. 
1066,  Wilham  the  Conqueror  was  crowned,  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
king  of  England.  His  Norman  followers  eagerly  demanded  the 
lands,  abbeys,  churches,  and  treasure  of  England  as  their  rightful 
spoil  and  recompense  for  services  rendered.  To  ascertain  the  value 
and  amount  of  land  in  his  new  kingdom,  the  Conqueror  ordered  a 
book  to  be  made  containing  a  description  and  valuation  of  every 
estate  or  manor  throughout  all  England,  excepting  two  counties 
made  desolate  by  war.  This  book,  called  the  "  Doomsday  Book  "  is 
still  extant;  in  it  Scrooby  is  described  as  belonging  to  the  "See  of 
York."  It  was  situated  150  miles  north  of  London,  on  what  was 
called  the  great  North  Road,  which  led  from  London  to  York,  and 
on  to  Berwick  on  the  borders  of  Scotland.  It  seems  to  have  been  a 
place  of  note  and  importance,  for  in  the  year  1503  Margaret,  daughter 
of  Henry  VII.,  and  grandmother  of  the  unfortunate  Mary  Queen  of 
Scots,  when  on  her  way  to  become  the  bride  of  James  IV.  and  Queen  of 
Scotland,  was  entertained  in  the  palace  of  Scrooby.  To  this  place 
in  his  "  See  of  York,"  Cardinal  Wolsey  retired  when  banished  from 
the  court  of  Henry  VIII.  in  1528.  Twelve  years  later,  in  1541, 
Henry  VIII.  himself  lodged  here.  Some  other  bishop  must  have  re- 
ceived the  king,  as  Wolsey  was  dead. 

The  same  year  Leyland  wirites;  "In  the  mean  townlet  of  Scrooby 
I  marked  two  things.     First,  the  church,  not  very  big,  but  very  well 


74  New  England  Church 

builded  of  square  polished  stones.  The  second  was  a  great  manor- 
place,  standing  within  a  moat  and  belonging  to  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  builded  in  two  courts,  whereof  the  first  is  very  ample,  and  all 
builded  of  timber  save  the  front  of  the  hall — that  is  of  brick,  to  the 
which  one  ascends  by  steps  of  stone.  The  inner  court  building  as 
far  as  I  marked,  was  of  timber,  and  w^as  not  in  compass,  past  the 
fourth  of  the  outer  court." 

Here  the  moat  and  the  timber  remind  us  of  the  blockhouses 
built  in  the  times  of  our  Indian  wars,  clearly  suggest  defense.  The 
little  church  of  polished  stones,  in  which  the  font  occupied  an  honor- 
able place,  was  a  fitting  house  of  worship  for  the  archbishop,  his 
court,  and  his  distinguished  guests. 

Forty  years  later,  in  1582,  Queen  Elizabeth,  but  for  the  spirited 
protest  of  Archbishop  Sandys,  would  have  presented  Scrooby  to  her 
favorite,  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  "The  loss  to  the  See,"  writes  the 
archbishop,  "would  be  ;^6o,ooo  at  least;  too  much,  Most  Gracious 
Sovereign,  too  much  to  pull  from  a  bishopric." 

He  kept  the  estate,  but  the  very  next  year  he  gave  it  to  his  son. 
Sir  Samuel  Sandys,  and  it  never  after  was  restored  to  the  bishopric 
of  York.  Sir  Samuel  Sandys  seems  to  have  resided  here  for  about 
ten  years,  monuments  to  his  family  of  that  date  still  remaining  in 
the  church.  He  then  leased  the  manor  house  with  its  surroundings 
to  Mr.  William  Brewster. 

ELDER  BREWSTER 

This  William  Brewster,  afterwards  chosen  elder  of  the  first 
church  of  our  order,  formed  in  Scrooby  Manor  House,  and  justly 
named  "Chief  of  the  Pilgrims"  was  then  about  thirty  years  of  age. 
His  life  had  been  an  eventful  one.  Having  been  instructed,  we  are 
told,  in  Latin  and  Greek  he  had  been  sent  to  school  at  Cambridge. 
Afterwards  he  entered  the  service  of  Mr.  Davidson,  Secretary  of 
State  in  the  time  of  Queen  EUzabeth.  The  Secretary,  finding  him 
to  be  "faithful,  wise,  and  discreet,  trusted  him,"  it  is  said,  "  above  all 
others,"  "treated  him  as  a  son,"  and  took  him  with  him  "when  sent 
on  an  embassy  to  Holland."  Returning  to  England  he  was  received 
with  special  honor,  and  continued  for  some  years  at  the  court,  in 
the  service  of  the  secretary.  In  1587,  Mary  of  Scotland  was  exe- 
cuted.    Ehzabeth,    to    shield    herself   from   blame,    affected    great 


Fiftieth  Anniversary  75 

indignation  against  Davidson  for  laying  the  death  warrant  she  had 
signed  before  the  privy  council.  He  was  arrested  and  committed  to 
the  Tower.  Brewster  remained  for  a  while  near  and  was  often  with 
his  fallen  friend  and  chief,  probably  until  his  release  from  the  Tower. 

THE  MANOR  HOUSE 

The  next  we  know  of  his  history  he  was  married,  leased  the 
manor  house  and  settled  down  at  Scrooby.  The  spirit  of  the 
Reformation  was  awake  in  the  land.  Old  religious  forms  were  pass- 
ing away,  and  men  were  earnestly  inquiring  for  a  better  way.  A 
few  earnest  clergymen  were  obtained,  largely  through  Mr.  Brewster's 
influence,  for  Scrooby  and  a  few  neighboring  villages.  Under  their 
guidance  the  people  crowded  the  parish  churches,  and  often  gathered 
at  the  manor  house  for  prayer  and  the  reading  of  God's  word. 

The  Christian  world  had  not  yet  learned  to  recognize  the  duty 
of  toleration  for  all  reUgious  beliefs.  We  know  the  story  how 
their  ministers  were  silenced,  their  conference  meetings  broken  up 
and  forbidden,  fines  imposed,  imprisonment  suffered,  and  they 
themselves  obliged  by  persecutions  and  fears  of  worse  to  come,  to 
fly  to  Holland  for  freedom  and  safety,  and  finally  to  seek  a  refuge  in 
the  New  World.  Just  before  their  flight,  they  met  in  the  manor 
house  and  there  formed  a  separate  and  independent  church.  They 
selected  Mr.  Brewster  to  be  their  elder,  an  office  which  he  held 
through  all  his  wanderings,  until  in  his  eighty-fourth  year,  having 
seen  the  Church  of  his  love  and  choice  securely  planted  in  the 
New  World,  he  died  in  Plymouth,  surrounded  by  his  children,  and 
mourned  by  all  his  people  whom  he  had  so  faithfully  loved  and 
served. 

SCROOBY  AND  THE  FIRST  PILGRIM  CHURCH 

Since  many  of  the  members  of  that  First  Pilgrim  Church  were 
from  Scrooby,  and  worshiped  in  its  church,  notwithstanding  the 
loss  of  the  early  parish  register,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
numbers  of  them  were  baptised  at  this  font,  and  that  WilUam  and 
Mary  Brewster,  whose  five  children  were  all  born  in  the  manor 
house,  brought  them  to  this  font  for  baptism. 

Some  time  after  Brewster's  occupancy,  the  historian,  Hunter, 
says:    "The  manor  house  was  at    length  gradually  neglected  and 


76  New  England  Church 

finally  suffered  to  go  to  decay.  One  hundred  years  later  the  house 
had  nearly  fallen  to  the  ground.  In  1813  the  house  had  disappeared, 
but  the  church  remained.  In  1853  a  tourist,  after  an  enthusiastic 
description  of  the  fertiUty  and  the  quiet  beauty  of  the  surrounding 
country,  speaks  of  the  village  of  Scrooby, "  marked  out  by  its  grace- 
fully constructed  church,  rising  above  the  green  level  with  its  gray, 
sky-pointing  spire."  He  mentions,  too,  "the moat,  some  fragments 
of  richly  carved  work,  sole  rehcs  of  the  great  manor  house  of  the 
bishops." 

(Signed)    William  H.  Bradley. 


3  8198  304  488  974 


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